Scoping Review on Global Digital Policies and Transformation Strategies for Ageing Societies: Implications for Malaysia

The rapid growth of ageing populations presents major social, healthcare, and economic challenges worldwide. Governments are increasingly adopting digital transformation strategies to support ageing societies through artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), telehealth, smart environments, and interoperable data systems. However, existing studies often focus on individual technologies, single-country initiatives, or sector-specific programmes, resulting in a fragmented understanding of how digital policies address ageing populations at the global level. This study conducts a scoping review to map digital policies, frameworks, and transformation strategies related to ageing societies and to identify transferable implications for Malaysia. The review follows PRISMA-ScR guidance and applies a Population-Concept-Context (PCC) framework. Searches were conducted across Scopus, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, PubMed, and institutional repositories for publications and policy documents from 2015 to 2025. After screening 857 records, 63 sources of evidence were included. The findings show that global digital ageing policies cluster around five domains: healthcare digitalisation, social inclusion and active ageing, smart environments and age-friendly cities, governance and data regulation, and economic participation of older adults. Persistent challenges include digital literacy gaps, privacy and ethical concerns, fragmented governance structures, limited interoperability, and unequal digital infrastructure. This review provides a consolidated global overview and highlights policy mechanisms that can inform the development of integrated digital ageing frameworks, particularly for countries preparing for population ageing, such as Malaysia.