Abstract: A sound rural elderly care policy not only enhances public welfare but also promotes social equity and justice. However, existing research has been vague in defining the criteria for a 'good’ policy, lacking quantitative evaluation. To address this, a three-dimensional analytical framework comprising 'theme-tool-quality’ was constructed. Text mining and content analysis methods were employed to conduct an in-depth analysis of rural elderly care service policies from 2013 to 2025. The PMC index model was then applied to quantitatively evaluate 11 specialised policies. Findings reveal: policy themes exhibit distinct characteristics, encompassing five categories: rural elderly care service networks, safeguard mechanisms and resource support, safety net provisions for vulnerable seniors, innovations in mutual-aid care models, and integrated medical-care with health services; The frequency of policy tool usage is unevenly distributed: mandatory tools account for 47.19%, hybrid tools for 27.24%, and voluntary tools for 25.57%, revealing a policy profile characterised by 'strong supply, weak incentives, and market deficiencies’; The average PMC score for representative rural elderly care policies is 6.59, indicating generally acceptable policy quality, though with significant inter-governmental disparities. Future improvements to rural elderly care policy quality could involve expanding thematic content, optimising policy tool combinations, and promoting the diffusion of high-quality policies.

Key words: rural elderly care services, policy Instruments, PMC index, public policy