Bibliometric Analysis on Horticultural Activities for Older Adults: A Global Perspective

Abstract

This bibliometric analysis elucidates global research trends on horticultural activities among older adults over the past decades. Publications were retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science using keywords "horticultural*" OR "garden*" AND "older adult*" OR "elderly*" with no date restrictions. Data cleaning and analysis utilized ScientoPy, VOSviewer, and Biblioshiny to examine publication trends, contributors, citations, keywords, and concepts. Findings reveal 168 papers published from 1953-2023, with the United States (46) and Australia (20) dominating contributions. Geriatrics, agriculture, public health, and psychology were top contributing fields. Influential works explored the physical, psychological, and cognitive benefits of gardening for older adults. Frequently occurring keywords represented themes of horticultural therapy, health, wellbeing, dementia, and aging. Growth trends demonstrate increasing research over time, with enduring knowledge gaps. This novel bibliometric analysis provides the first holistic literature mapping in horticulture and aging. It identifies research foci and frontiers to inform priority-setting and knowledge generation. Findings confirm the multifaceted benefits of gardening for older adults. Continued growth in interdisciplinary collaboration is vital to advancing evidence-based nature-based practices to enhance healthy aging. Researchers and practitioners can leverage these insights to catalyze future research, policy, and translation of horticultural activities for diverse older populations.