Systematic Review of Smart Elderly Care in Digital Environments: Toward Sustainable Wellbeing for Older Adults

The growing proportion of older adults has created significant societal pressure for sustainable, inclusive solutions that enhance health, autonomy, and well-being in old age. Smart elderly care has therefore emerged as a multidisciplinary research frontier at the intersection of technology, health, and social sustainability. This study provides a comprehensive systematic review to map and conceptualize its evolving landscape in the digital era. Following the PRISMA guidelines, 55 peer-reviewed articles published in the Web of Science database were analyzed using document co-citation analysis and natural language processing-based content analysis, utilizing CiteSpace and Leximancer for implementation. The findings reveal that existing studies have predominantly focused on technology acceptance and adoption among older adults, with quantitative approaches such as Structural Equation Modeling within the Technology Acceptance Model framework being most frequently used. Building on these insights, the review identifies five key directions for advancing sustainable wellbeing: (1) conceptual clarification and operationalization of smart elderly care, (2) theoretical integration across disciplines, (3) examination of influencing factors shaping user engagement, (4) evaluation of social and well-being outcomes, and (5) methodological and disciplinary diversification. By synthesizing fragmented knowledge into a coherent framework, this study contributes to the understanding of smart elderly care as a critical component of sustainable aging societies and lays the groundwork for future academic inquiry and policy innovation.