Rural Integration and Resource Integration: A Study on the Sustainable Pathway of Social Work Intervention in Rural Elderly Care Services

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the deepening aging population in rural China and the impetus of government policies, it is necessary for social work to intervene in rural elderly care services. However, issues related to a lack of resources and sustainability exist both in the methods of intervention by social work organizations and in the operation of rural elderly care service sites. Based on a case study and in-depth interviews conducted at a social work-operated elderly care service center in Village N, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, this study analyzes how social workers can achieve sustained intervention in rural elderly care services and how to promote the sustainability of these services. The findings indicate that through the approach of rural integration, social workers embed themselves into the rural field across three dimensions: organizational structure, local culture, and practical action. In this process of integration, they construct the legitimacy for social workers to carry out services, stimulate the vitality of internal rural resources, enhance the capacity of internal rural resource stakeholders, and simultaneously attract and connect external resource stakeholders to supply resources for rural elderly care services, thereby effectively achieving the integration of internal and external resources. The study concludes that the approach of rural integration enables social workers to rapidly gain legitimacy and facilitates the subsequent delivery of services. Building upon this, effective resource integration can sustain the outcomes of rural elderly care service provision, compensate for resource deficiencies, and enhance the sustainability of rural elderly care services.

1. Introduction

Population aging is one of the major social concerns worldwide, population aging is increasing pressure on national politics and the economy [1]. Chinese society is undergoing a rapid and profound population aging process, which has triggered a series of issues such as a sustained contraction of the labor force, a heavy social elderly care burden, and downward pressure on economic operations [2]. Compared with urban areas, the population aging in rural China is more severe and progresses faster. According to the statistical data from China’s Seventh National Population Census, the proportion of people aged 60 and above in rural China is 23.81%, while that in urban areas is 15.82% [3]. Meanwhile, rural elderly care is confronted with multiple challenges, including the outflow of young and middle-aged labor, the weakening function of family-based elderly support, and the scarcity of public elderly care resources.

Against the aforementioned backdrop, the Chinese government places high priority on the elderly care issue in rural areas. The 2021 State Council Notice on Issuing the “14th Five-Year” National Plan on the Development of Aging Affairs and the Elderly Care Service System emphasizes “fully mobilizing the initiative of social forces to provide the people with elderly care services that are convenient and accessible, affordable, and quality-assured.” The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out the need to accelerate the construction of township-level regional elderly care service centers, including promoting services such as daycare, mutual support elderly care, visitation and concern, and elderly canteens. In 2024, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, jointly with the Office of the Central Committee for Spiritual Civilization Development, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and other departments, issued the Guidelines on Accelerating the Development of Rural Elderly Care Services, which further specifies the need to support various social forces in investing in and developing rural elderly care, prioritizing the provision of inclusive elderly care services that are convenient and accessible, affordable, and quality-assured.

The relevant policies of the Chinese government provide strong policy and institutional support for social organizations to enter rural areas and promote the development of elderly care services. Among these, social work, as an important component of social forces and a representative social organization, has seen the promotion of sustainable social service development become a key point in practice [4]. However, projects involving social work in rural elderly care services, similar to other elderly care entities funded and operated by the government, rely on government funding. Simultaneously, as “outsiders,” social workers themselves face the challenge of how to take root in the unfamiliar rural field, easily leading to issues of detachment from “local embeddedness” and “superficial engagement” in practice [5]. This issue is not only present in the development and practice of social work in China; research in other countries and regions, such as Nepal, Australia, and even Africa, also indicates that the implementation of rural social work must first consider the local particularities of rural areas [6,7,8]. While existing studies point out that the insufficiency of resources and social networks is a key challenge for work in rural settings [9], and that in the context of fragmented elderly care resources, the core of social work lies in activating the endogenous dynamics of communities through resource linking [10], it remains crucial to recognize that considering the local particularities of rural areas and acquiring legitimacy are the fundamental prerequisites for conducting resource linking and integration.

Therefore, this study aims to employ qualitative research methods to conduct an in-depth analysis of practical cases in which social work operates rural elderly care service sites in western rural China. Drawing on the orientation of integrated social work development, community integration theory, and the concept of resource integration, it constructs an analytical framework of “integration” and “amalgamation” to further analyze the strategies and practical pathways adopted by social workers in the process of operating rural elderly care service sites. It seeks to address the following questions: How do social workers achieve “rural integration” and construct service legitimacy? How do social workers link and activate resource networks to supply resources for elderly care service sites? How does this pathway enhance the sustainability of both social work intervention and rural elderly care services? It thereby provides Chinese experience and a reference model for rural social work practice in other countries and regions.

2. Literature Review and Analytical Framework

2.1. The Role and Challenges of Social Work in Rural Elderly Care Services

The rural field, characterized by the possibility of direct access to local leaders and partners, is more conducive to achieving the needs and goals of the elderly [11]. Social workers engage with rural communities through non-governmental, civil society and human rights organizations, government social assistance programs, and international aid agencies. They address the dilemmas and obstacles faced by rural communities and, in line with their professional role as agents of social change, serve as catalysts for grassroots and civil society initiatives [12]. Through long-term residence in villages, social workers can gain on-the-ground understanding of elderly villagers’ needs and provide timely elderly care services [13]. In terms of direct services, social workers need to provide case work for special elderly patients, conduct advocacy in rural areas, and act as liaisons between service-providing institutions and the elderly [14]. Social work interventions can reduce feelings of depression, loneliness, and anxiety among rural elderly individuals and improve their quality of life [15].

Secondly, social work holds significant value in enhancing the public sphere of rural communities, fostering rural social capital, and advancing rural cultural and ethical standards. It involves deep interaction with service users, conducts case management, cultivates volunteer teams, serves vulnerable groups, engages in policy advocacy, and promotes social connectedness [16,17]. The participation of social work in the provision of rural social public services can facilitate the effective resolution of social issues and further improve grassroots social governance [18]. For instance, in community-based elderly care, social workers employ group work to foster mutual aid among the elderly and integrate resources among resident stakeholders [19], or utilize professional theories and practices to link resources within the community, creating an integrated service model such as “respecting the elderly + community elderly care stations” [20]. Overall, social workers are capable of adopting a holistic governance perspective to consider and construct an integrated resource supply network, strengthen the community’s supportive function, engage in cross-sector collaboration, and achieve functional complementarity among multiple stakeholders [21,22]. In the process of integrating community public welfare resources, social work organizations and social workers primarily leverage their inherent strength in resource integration [23], acting in the role of resource linkers [24]. It can be observed that resource mobilization constitutes a critical component of social work practice [25].

Regarding the practical challenges of social work’s involvement in rural elderly care services, social workers face the dilemma of collective action in the provision of rural public services. These challenges are prominently manifested in aspects such as cost-sharing for collective action, efficiency improvement, and the construction of trust mechanisms, ultimately affecting the efficiency and quality of public service delivery [26,27]. As external entities, social work organizations often lack a deep understanding of the rural social foundation. This leads to issues such as superficial engagement, discrepancies between modern service concepts of social workers and traditional village cultural norms, a tendency for social workers to become dependent on grassroots administrative organizations, hindering the full application of their professional expertise, and insufficient public participation awareness and comprehension capacity [28,29]. Furthermore, the operational funding for most Chinese social work organizations primarily comes from government allocations, resulting in a singular source of funding. There is a need to construct a diversified funding security system led by government finance and supplemented by community and social resources [30]. The depth of social work intervention in rural areas is generally insufficient, with a pronounced tendency towards project-based and activity-based approaches. This is closely related to the deficiency of both internal and external resources in rural areas and the ongoing need for enhanced professionalism in social work [31].

In summary, existing research generally affirms the significant role of social work in rural elderly care services. Social work services can address the current service gap in rural elderly care, improve the quality of life for the elderly, and have positive effects in bridging service gaps, enhancing quality of life, and strengthening community mutual aid. Regarding the challenges, rural social workers face issues such as insufficient supply of resources related to elderly care, reliance on government funding for project implementation, and a lack of self-sustaining capacity. Furthermore, social workers encounter the characteristics of acquaintance-based societies and cultural norms in rural communities. Establishing professional relationships and delivering services are more complex and difficult compared to urban social work practice. Service activities designed based on universal concepts often result in a “superficial engagement” phenomenon characterized by low participation rates among the elderly. The root cause of these difficulties lies in the failure of social work practice to adequately integrate with the rural social context and to construct a dynamic local resource support system centered on elderly care services. Therefore, this study focuses on how social workers integrate into the rural field, explores pathways and strategies that enable their sustainable involvement in rural elderly care services, and, based on this, analyzes how social workers can integrate internal and external rural resources to form a sustainable supply of resources for rural elderly care.

2.2. The Analytical Framework of “Rural Integration” and “Resource Amalgamation”

The concept of “integration” initially stems from “embeddedness”. “Embeddedness” was first used to explain how social relations are embedded within economic systems [32]. Granovetter further elaborated the concept of embeddedness, interpreting it as economic actions being embedded within social networks, where such actions are profoundly influenced by social norms, social relations, and social institutions [33]. Simply put, “embeddedness” describes the phenomenon where an actor or a certain action enters into another actor or structure to exert influence. Chinese scholar Wang Sibin introduced the concept of embeddedness into the field of social work in China, proposing that the development path of Chinese social work is one of “embedded development,” referring to the process where professional social work embeds itself into traditional Chinese administrative social work [34]. Building upon this, Wang Sibin subsequently proposed the concept of “integrated development”. Here, the concept of integration signifies the merging of professional social work and administrative social work under conditions of equality [35]. However, in essence, whenever professional social work enters any field, it undergoes a process from embedding to integration. This process does not occur solely in relation to traditional administrative social work but happens within whichever field social work enters.

Within the connotation of integrated development, this study draws upon the optimized community integration theory proposed by scholar Chen Chengwen. This theory emphasizes a shift from the “embeddedness” of external connections to the integration inherent in practice itself. The theory of community integration originally stems from Tönnies’ discussion of community. Tönnies viewed community as an organism naturally formed by traditional customs, collective sentiments, and spirit [36]; however, under this condition, the concept of community inherently carries a sense of exclusivity towards outsiders. Putnam’s social capital theory, on the other hand, uses the stock level of social capital as a measure of the degree of community integration [37] but does not fully explore whether integration necessitates the abandonment of one’s own cultural characteristics. Based on the above tracing of origins of community integration theory, Chinese scholar Chen Chengwen provided a more detailed definition of the theory and introduced it into the practical methods of social work. The community integration theory elucidated by Chen focuses on the process through which individuals, interacting within a specific geographical and social group, acquire position, support, and a sense of belonging. It emphasizes the emotional identification, psychological affiliation, and subjectivity construction behind the act of “integration.” It emphasizes that community integration is a comprehensive process. This process is founded on the basis of equal rights and is facilitated through professional empowerment. It promotes constructive interaction between the individual and the community at structural, cultural, and practical levels, ultimately aiming to achieve relationship reconfiguration, identity reconstruction, and the building of a harmonious community. This theory explains methods for social work to promote the community integration of service users from structural, cultural, and action dimensions [38]. However, this theory regards community integration as a methodological orientation for social work practice, emphasizing the promotion of service users’ community integration, rather than the integration of social workers themselves into the community as a field. This study, by tracing back the methods through which social workers carry out their work, explores the strategies enabling social workers to conduct services within a specific field. It thus extends the application of community integration theory from service users to social workers themselves.

Drawing on the theory of community integration, this study proposes the concept of rural integration. Firstly, rural integration inherits the connotations of the theory of community integration while placing its primary focus on the rural environment. Although a village is a type of community, compared to urban communities, rural communities place greater emphasis on local culture and social relations (especially those based on acquaintance). Within this contextual field, the interaction between “structure and action” is more complex. The concept of rural integration can thus strengthen the recognition and understanding of the specific characteristics of the rural context. Secondly, this study extends the applicability of the theory of community integration through the concept of rural integration. The practice object of the theory of community integration is the service user of social work, whereas this study includes social workers themselves as objects of integration. That is, when researching social workers’ intervention in rural service fields, rural integration can be defined as the process through which social workers, via professional empowerment, promote constructive interaction between themselves and the rural structure, culture, and individual modes of action, thereby achieving relationship building, gaining acceptance, and participating in rural affairs. Simultaneously, this process is distinctly different from the existing notion of “embeddedness” in the field of Chinese social work. Compared to the “dependency” described by embeddedness, rural integration focuses more on analyzing and understanding the process by which social workers become members of the system, forming an organic whole. Social workers both influence and alter the operational logic of the existing system and adjust their own practice models according to the local context. Social workers thus become both the subject and the object of the integration action, ultimately achieving the unification of professionalization and localization. Finally, based on the connotations of rural integration, this study constructs three analytical dimensions: organizational integration, local cultural integration, and practical action integration. Organizational integration refers to social workers establishing formal and informal collaborative relationships with the village Party branch and villagers’ committee, rural elites, and existing community organizations, thereby gaining entry into the rural power and action networks. Local cultural integration entails understanding and respecting local dialects, etiquettes, values, beliefs, and lifestyle patterns, adapting service design and communication methods accordingly to avoid cultural conflicts. Practical action integration means that the methods of conducting social work activities and problem-solving align with the everyday practical logic of the rural field. Through practical actions, it aims to achieve mutual influence with various relevant actors within the rural field and disseminate the values and methods of social work practice.

The concept of resource integration was first proposed in economic research, where it was defined as “resource management,” referring to the process of integrating and utilizing existing resources [39]. Subsequent scholars have extended this definition, emphasizing that resource integration must be systematic, focusing on core resources while discarding ineffective ones, thereby reconstructing the original resource system [40]. In the practice of community-based elderly care services, it is necessary to integrate resources both from within and outside the community to supply such services, meeting the needs for service-related infrastructure development and professional personnel and skills. Its ultimate goal is to connect resources with demands, leveraging the functions of existing community resources according to needs or seeking new resources to fulfill those demands [41]. Collaborative network relationships across levels and involving multiple stakeholders play a critical role in maintaining the quality of life for elderly residents in aging communities [42]. It requires joint resource provision and the assumption of corresponding responsibilities by entities such as the government, market, social organizations, and families [43]. Thus, it can be argued that the essence of providing community services is a process of integrating community public welfare resources. In this study, taking social workers as the primary actors, rural elderly care service resources are categorized into internal and external types based on the resource providers. Resource providers such as village committees, volunteers, community social organizations, and local capable individuals are classified as internal resources, while resource providers such as enterprises and social benefactors are classified as external resources.

In summary, by employing the theoretical concept of rural integration, this study extends the original theory of community integration, strengthens the characterization of the rural context, and positions social workers as the object of integration action. It explores the preconditions and strategies that enable social workers to conduct services within the rural context. Analyzing how social workers transition from embeddedness to integration at the practical level, based on the embedded development of social work in China, the study makes a theoretical and analytical contribution. Furthermore, this study links the concept of social workers’ rural integration with that of resource integration. It aims to elucidate how social workers integrate into the rural field through the three dimensions of organization, culture, and practice, and how this foundational integration facilitates the amalgamation of internal and external resources, thereby enhancing the operational effectiveness of rural elderly care service sites.

3. Methods and Materials

3.1. Research Methods

This study adopts a case study method within a qualitative research orientation. The research is supported by the Chinese National Social Science Fund project titled Research on the Normalized Assistance Mechanism for Rural Low-Income Populations after the Transition Period (Project No. 23BSH009). During July August 2025, the project team conducted fieldwork in multiple villages in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, and ultimately selected the most representative Village N as the research case. During the fieldwork, researchers collected qualitative data through in-depth interviews and observation. Field notes, interview transcripts, and relevant documentary materials (including social workers’ reports, related WeChat posts, news reports, etc.) were organized and analyzed. For the in-depth interviews, ten interviewees were selected, including one social work project supervisor, two frontline social workers, one village Party secretary, one head of a community social organization, one community volunteer, two rural elderly individuals, and two stakeholders (an enterprise representative and a philanthropic individual). The selection criteria were based on the relevance of these interviewees to the case chosen for this study. All interviewees were participants in and stakeholders of the project where social workers operated the elderly care service site in Village N. Given the study’s primary aim of exploring sustainable pathways for social work intervention in rural elderly care, all social workers and the institutional supervisor involved in the project were selected. For other actors, as individuals within the same category showed little variation in their actions and perspectives regarding the project, sample selection favored the most representative individual within each category. Interviews continued until no new significant information emerged and no new codes could be generated. The characteristics of the interviewees are presented in

Table 1. Basic Information of Interviewees.

Initials	Category	Gender	Age
XLW	Project Supervisor	Female	39
KX	Frontline Social Worker	Female	28
WJT	Frontline Social Worker	Female	26
YKC	Village Party Secretary	Male	55
YGK	Head of Rural Social Organization	Male	62
XYM	Volunteer	Female	65
ZAG	Elderly Villager	Male	66
LQ	Elderly Villager	Female	70
WQF	Corporate Representative	Male	42
DT	Community Philanthropist	Male	45

.

For the specific analysis of the interview data, thematic analysis was employed. The reliability of coding was first ensured through an iterative coding procedure. The entire analysis was a non-linear, spiral process, divided into three stages involving multiple iterations from open coding and focused coding to thematic refinement and integration. In the first stage, open coding was conducted, where sentences from each interviewee pertaining to the social workers’ operation of the elderly care service center in Village N were assigned labels, such as participating in administrative work, aligning with traditional culture, transmitting social work professional knowledge, cultivating social organizations, etc. At this stage, two researchers independently coded the data, and the results were subsequently merged to form the open codes. This helped to avoid bias that might arise from coding by a single researcher [44]. In the second stage, the codes were focused into concepts, such as organizational integration, cultural integration, and internal-external resource integration. The third stage involved refining and synthesizing all concepts derived from the focused codes into themes, which ultimately aligned with the framework of “rural integration” (organizational, cultural, practical) and “resource integration” (internal, external). The entire analytical process incorporated systematic peer checking through structured peer debriefing and cross-verification. The research team discussed all codes and themes until consensus was reached on the final thematic categories. The assessment of thematic saturation combined operational and judgmental approaches. After analyzing the 9th and 10th interview transcripts, the supplementary insights that new data provided to the established analytical framework significantly diminished, and a phenomenon of “information repetition” emerged.

Subsequently, this study will cite statements from some interviewees according to the themes. These statements retain the original wording to enhance the depth and transparency of the narrative, utilizing the interviewees’ actual responses as core evidence for thematic interpretation. This study informed all participants in observations and interviews about the research purpose, content, and data usage, and obtained their written or oral consent. Furthermore, all content involving personal information and privacy has been anonymized.

3.2. Case Description

The N Village selected for this study is located in Lingshan County, Qinzhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. As a rural village in western China, it is characterized by relatively underdeveloped economic conditions and lagging development of rural public services. The village has a total population of approximately 5000, of which about 600 are people aged 60 and above, accounting for 11.4% of the total population. Among them, there are 8 extremely impoverished elderly individuals, 19 elderly receiving subsistence allowances, and over 20 left-behind or disabled elderly individuals. However, the village has a high number of migrant workers, resulting in a significant gap in elderly care services for the village’s senior population, especially for the oldest-old, empty-nesters, those living alone, and those with disabilities. In October 2023, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and several other ministries issued the Action Plan for Elderly Meal Assistance Services, advocating for the participation of public welfare and charitable organizations, enterprises, and individuals in elderly meal assistance services. The Lingshan County Civil Affairs Bureau launched the Special Assistance and Care Service Project for Elderly in Difficulty. The Bureau invested over 600,000 yuan to establish Qinzhou City’s first comprehensive village-level home-based elderly care service center. Utilizing the site freely provided for the home-based elderly care service center, an additional 200,000 yuan was invested to complete the preliminary renovation, setup, and equipment procurement for the Nalang Village Elderly Canteen. This integrated meal assistance services with other home- and community-based elderly care services such as daycare and short-term companionship. This also included purchasing services by commissioning the XY Social Work Service Center to operate and manage the N Village Home-based Elderly Care Service Center, equipping it with service coordination and management positions such as social work supervisors and managers. This village’s elderly care service center is the first comprehensive village-level home-based elderly care service center in Qinzhou City.

Since its commencement of operation in December 2023, the village’s home-based elderly care service center has raised approximately 64,500 yuan in funds and materials. It has established cooperative relationships with 14 enterprises and 7 individuals, of which 9 entities (enterprises and individuals) have become long-term partners. A closed-loop linkage encompassing fundraising, service delivery, follow-up visits, and recognition has been formed, creating a resource-linking platform for mobilizing social philanthropic resources, facilitating visits and exchanges, organizing internships and practical training, and conducting research projects. In 2024, the elderly canteen affiliated with this home-based care center was successfully established. The canteen provides breakfast and lunch for the elderly daily, with beverages offered free of charge. To date, it has served the elderly approximately 18,600 person-times and has delivered 456 meals to 94 elderly individuals who are oldest-old, have mobility difficulties, or suffer from cognitive impairment diseases. While providing meal assistance services and venues for cultural activities for the elderly, social workers also regularly conduct home visit and concern services for those with limited mobility. For the extremely impoverished elderly, social workers and elderly care coordinators provide home-based services at least once a week, addressing the related difficulties of these extremely impoverished elderly in a timely manner.

The case selection criteria for this study are, first and foremost, to choose a rural elderly care service site operated by social workers. This study is based on a large-scale social survey on “Building a Service System for Caring for Rural Elderly.” In the survey, the vast majority of rural elderly care service sites were directly operated by village committees or township governments. In contrast, the elderly care service site in Village N is operated by the XY Social Work Service Center. Employing this case provides an excellent entry point for studying social work intervention in rural elderly care. Secondly, the case must be a successful and exemplary one to allow for the analysis and abstraction of a pathway from the social workers’ successful experience that holds reference and transferable value. The elderly care service center in Village N has been notably successful under the operation of social workers. The social work organization has played a significant role in the center’s development and service provision, with diversified resource linkages, demonstrating good representativeness. Thirdly, this study does not aim to use a successful case merely to assert that the practice of social workers is successful. Instead, it seeks to analyze, through this successful case, why social workers were able to endow the rural elderly care service site with good sustainability and significant outcomes, and what strategies the social workers employed prior to achieving success, thereby avoiding circular reasoning. Finally, using this case for research can offer referential significance for social work practice and studies in other regions. However, the analysis of the Village N project inevitably carries particularities, which imposes certain limitations on the generalizability of the research findings derived from this case. Furthermore, this “success narrative” may involve insufficient analysis of potential negative factors and challenges.

4. Findings

4.1. “Rural Integration”: Social Workers’ Strategies for Entering the Rural Field

4.1.1. Organizational Integration

As an external entity entering the practical field of Village N, a social work organization must undergo a process of localized adaptation. This study summarizes this process as rural integration. Based on the analytical framework and the organization of collected data, this study further specifies “rural integration” into three aspects: organizational integration, rural cultural integration, and practical action integration.

In terms of organizational integration, this primarily elucidates the process and strategies through which social workers integrate into the organizational structure of the village committee. In China, the village committee is the most grassroots unit governing rural areas. Although external social work organizations have their services purchased by township or county-level governments, when they are stationed in the village to conduct practice, it is the village committee with which they directly establish contact and from which they receive work-related assistance.

“When we first arrived in this village, it was extremely difficult, no doubt about it. As an organization from outside, we weren’t familiar with the local roads or the people. Honestly, without the help of the village officials, conducting a needs assessment would have been virtually impossible.” (KX, Frontline Social Worker, 20250726)

“If the village committee isn’t engaged in our work of operating the senior care service station, we lose a lot of support. Whether it’s asking them for a list of severely disadvantaged elders or figuring out which routes to take for home visits—without the village committee’s guidance, relying solely on us social workers, it’s simply not possible. If the committee provides strong support, our work here can get up and running smoothly and quickly. But if their support is limited or basically nonexistent, then our work becomes much more difficult.” (XLW, Project Supervisor, 20250725)

The accounts from the frontline social workers and supervisor mentioned above demonstrate the importance of the village committee for social workers’ initial work. Therefore, after entering the rural area, social workers need to establish a good relationship with the village committee. This requires them to develop an administrative mindset and assist the committee with a certain degree of administrative work. It is important to note here that undertaking administrative tasks for the village committee does not hinder the application of social workers’ professional expertise. Through this process, social workers can gain a deeper understanding of the operational logic of grassroots self-governance organizations. Furthermore, since the work of the village committee is closely connected to rural residents, assisting the committee also helps to bridge the distance with them. The village Party secretary has also expressed recognition for the participation of social work in village-level affairs.

“Right now, the workload at the grassroots level in rural areas is heavy, and elderly care isn’t our only key priority. But since the social workers who come here also help us with other tasks, naturally, we are more willing to provide stronger support for their senior care services.” (YKC, Village Party Secretary, 20250727)

4.1.2. Local Cultural Integration

Regarding local cultural integration, social workers respect and utilize local knowledge. Unlike their urban counterparts, rural elderly individuals often still engage in farming work. Consequently, their leisure time is relatively limited. Therefore, the design of service activities must consider avoiding busy farming seasons and effectively utilize the elderly’s slack farming periods. Furthermore, activities are scheduled to coincide with traditional festivals (such as the Zhuang ethnic group’s March 3rd Festival), thereby imbuing the services with cultural significance.

“Our main activities are closely tied to local culture and traditional festivals. For example, food-making is at the heart of what we do—things like snow-skin mooncakes, dumplings, or Qingtuan (traditional rice balls) for the March 3rd festival. The older adults really enjoy these; everyone can sit together, knead dough, chat, and finally taste what they’ve made with their own hands, sharing with each other. Especially during traditional holidays, their enthusiasm for participating is very high, so we design our service activities around these festive occasions.” (WJT, Frontline Social Worker, 20250726)

By integrating local and traditional festival cultures into their service delivery, social workers can further embed themselves into the rural context. This effectively enhances the acceptance of their services by the rural elderly, strengthens the legitimacy of their intervention, and simultaneously deepens the elderly’s sense of belonging and emotional connection to the village collective.

4.1.3. Practical Action Integration

In terms of practical action integration, social workers first embed themselves into the lives of rural residents through concrete service actions. By addressing the daily needs of the elderly, such as meals and transportation, they attract the elderly to participate in subsequent elderly care service activities.

“We work closely with the village’s elderly care coordinators, joining them on home visits to engage closely with the daily lives of older adults in need. Also, at our senior care service center, we’ve set up a canteen where the elders can try the food first—we then adjust the flavors based on their feedback. For those who are unable to come out due to poor health, we also provide meal delivery.” (WJT, Social Worker, 20250726)

“Last summer during the rainy season, the dirt road in front of our house was washed away, which made getting around really difficult. So the social workers launched a call for donations in the village group chat, and people responded right away with funds. Together with the village committee and volunteers, they built a concrete road in just a day and a half.” (ZAG, Elderly Villager, 20250729)

Simultaneously, the integration of social workers through practical actions also alters the living habits of the rural elderly. Specific evidence is as follows:

“Before the service station existed, my daily routine was pretty much set: in the morning, I’d take my grandson to school, come back home and start cooking, then pick him up at noon. After lunch, I’d take him to school again, and from afternoon till evening, it was the same cycle—that was pretty much my whole day. At most, I’d chat a bit with neighbors nearby. But ever since this service station opened, I come over whenever I have time—maybe to talk with the social workers, join in activities, or gather with others to do square dancing here.” (LQ, Elderly Villager, 20250729)

“Closer and more harmonious, and people’s ways of life have changed significantly. The older adults now have more cultural and recreational activities to take part in, and their overall spirit has lifted. We’ve also learned a good deal of professional knowledge alongside the social workers.” (YKC, Village Party Secretary, 20250727)

The root of this change lies in social workers identifying the unmet needs of rural elderly beyond their daily subsistence. Influenced by their educational attainment and living environment, this demographic has a significant knowledge gap regarding spiritual and cultural life beyond traditional customs. While integrating through practical actions and embracing local daily life knowledge, social workers are also able to enrich the spiritual and cultural lives of the elderly, thereby transforming their living habits.

4.2. “Resource Integration”: Enhancing the Sustainability of Rural Elderly Care Services

4.2.1. Linking and Integrating Internal Resources in Village N

This study analyzes resource integration by categorizing resource providers into internal and external to the village. Aside from the social workers themselves, the primary internal resource providers include the village committee, rural social organizations, and volunteers (rural residents). Regarding resource linkage with the village committee, social workers gained its recognition through the process of integration. Consequently, the committee provided substantial resources to support the service delivery by social workers.

“The village committee doesn’t charge us for utilities or venue rent, and we share the maintenance costs of the station with them. We receive a lot of support from the committee—for example, repainting the walls or repairing aging equipment. The Village Party Secretary always makes every effort to assist us. Moreover, the committee helps us connect with the government to access resources provided by the authorities.” (KX, Frontline Social Worker, 20250726)

“Social workers have made a significant impact on our village’s work. They regularly assist us with tasks like publicity and outreach, organizing villagers, and identifying and recommending capable individuals.” (YKC, Village Party Secretary, 20250727)

Regarding the capacity building of rural social organizations, social workers primarily promote their development through professional capacity-building training. The social work team provides training for rural social organizations on aspects such as service capabilities, institutional norms, functional positioning, and activity planning. The main approach is to link and integrate the resources of rural social organizations through the provision of professional knowledge.

“When the social workers approached us, we were very willing to participate. Our Older Adults Association primarily focuses on serving the elderly, so when we were asked to take part in building the senior care service center, of course we were happy to—because the range of services we currently offer is still somewhat limited.” (YGK, Head of Rural Social Organization, 20250728)

Rural residents are not only recipients of village public services but also participants in and contributors to them [45]. As the content of activities organized by social workers becomes increasingly diverse and their frequency rises, rural elderly individuals, after experiencing the warmth of being served and cared for, also actively participate in various voluntary service activities within the village to give back to the community. Furthermore, social workers employ a volunteer service point redemption system to motivate volunteers and other rural residents to actively engage in activities related to elderly care services.

“As individuals, our strength may be limited, but with the social workers’ encouragement, we’re all willing to join the volunteer team. We’ve experienced firsthand how this kind of mutual help works, and that naturally inspires us to bring others on board. The social workers have also given us a lot of guidance. They’ve even set up a volunteer point system—so while we’re contributing through service, we can also redeem points for daily necessities.” (XYM, Volunteer, 20250728)

4.2.2. Linking and Integrating External Resources for Village N

The primary providers of external resources for the village are enterprises and social benefactors. Given the current reality that the internal public welfare resource entities and the community canteen lack a “self-sustaining” capacity, the integration of external community resources is crucial.

“When the social workers first approached our company, we weren’t sure why—after all, we’re just a frozen food manufacturer. Supplying goods to rural areas doesn’t bring much economic benefit to us. But after talking with them, we learned that we could receive government subsidies, and it would also help enhance our company’s social reputation. The social workers also promised to help promote our brand. I believe that through this opportunity, we can plant our roots in the rural community, which may lead to greater benefits in the future—all while earning goodwill for our company.” (WQF, Corporate Representative, 20250801)

“After they make a donation, we hold a recognition ceremony. We invite officials from the Civil Affairs Bureau to present awards such as certificates of public-spiritedness, honorary banners, letters of appreciation, and commemorative plaques. These recognitions give both individual donors and companies a real sense of achievement. At the same time, it serves as positive publicity. We also promote these activities through our organization’s WeChat official account and news media outlets—so far, there have been over twenty such reports.” (KX, Frontline Social Worker, 20250726)

The interview materials above reveal that social workers employ honor incentives and achievement feedback mechanisms—such as public announcements on notice boards, plaques, commendatory banners, certificates of honor, and letters of appreciation—to motivate external resource providers in the rural area to actively contribute resources. This mechanism effectively addresses these external providers’ needs for social recognition and reputation.

On the other hand, the publicity skills of social workers also provide strong support for linking and integrating external resources. Publicity through news reports or social media similarly brings social recognition and reputation, as expressed by a social benefactor:

“I first learned about the senior care service center in N Village through a news report. I was immediately interested in the social work organization operating it, so I looked up their WeChat official account. From what I saw, they are indeed doing solid work—steadfastly channeling resources to support older adults in rural areas. That’s why I decided to donate both funds and supplies to them.” (DT, Community Philanthropist, 20250802)

4.3. The Impact of Rural Integration on Resource Integration

Rural integration serves as the prerequisite for social workers to gain legitimacy. Through in-depth organizational and local cultural integration, social workers become accepted by the rural structure of power relations and the cultural system, thereby acquiring the “legitimacy” to act. The village committee regards social workers as “cooperators,” and villagers see them as familiar acquaintances rather than outsiders, willing to open their hearts, offer assistance, or accept services. This trust forms the foundation for mobilizing internal human and social resources. It also makes internal rural resources more willing to cooperate with a project operator that is “grounded,” possesses rural connections, and has cultural roots. The various actors in Village N have formed a cohesive system for elderly care service provision:

“Nowadays, whenever there’s something going on in the village, we all work together to sort it out. All the village cadres, organizations, and residents get together—whenever there’s an issue related to elderly care, whether it’s happening now or might come up in the future, we hold discussion meetings with all the stakeholders in the village and figure things out together.” (KX, Frontline Social Worker, 20250726)

Secondly, local cultural integration enables service design to resonate with the rural collective memory and value systems. For instance, linking elderly care services with traditional virtues such as neighborly mutual assistance and with traditional festivals more readily stimulates the participation willingness of the rural elderly. This endogenous motivation, rooted in cultural identity, is more enduring and profound than mere economic incentives or external appeals, serving as the core for the sustained supply of internal resources.

“We older folks really look forward to holidays—they mean a lot to us. Celebrating together creates such a warm, lively atmosphere! The young people are usually away working elsewhere, so during festivals, we organize activities to get everyone back together and have some fun, make some noise, and enjoy the company.” (LQ, Elderly Villager, 20250729)

Finally, through practical integration, actors such as village cadres, volunteer teams, and rural social organizations are able to assimilate the professional methods of social workers during their collaboration. Simultaneously, the rural elderly population gains firsthand experience of elderly care services through provision by social workers and other sources, enhancing their understanding of these services and increasing their social participation. As stated by the secretary of Village N:

“In the past, the way we worked was pretty straightforward—if there was a task, we’d just do it and call it a day. But social workers showed us a whole different approach. They use all kinds of methods to make our work more effective. For example, they helped us build up our volunteer teams and local community organizations. Before, our approach was simple: when something needed doing, we’d just call someone to do it. Now, we’ve actually learned how to design better programs that genuinely improve older people’s quality of life and well-being.

With support from social workers, we’ve now raised nearly 70,000 yuan in operating funds and built long-term partnerships with almost 10 local businesses. Especially for our senior dining hall—these partners supply us with food and meals at cost price, and some even donate them for free. Thanks to that, we barely have to worry about the operating costs for our service site and dining hall anymore. Any surplus supplies or funds we get, we reinvest into other community welfare projects in the village.” (YKC, Village Party Secretary, 20250727)

Based on rural integration, social workers have carried out effective resource integration. This working strategy has enhanced the sustainability of resource provision at the elderly care service center in Village N, reduced operational costs, and improved the efficiency of resource allocation and utilization. Various resource providers leverage their respective resource advantages in alignment with the operations and service activities led by social workers. This transforms resource integration from a process of mechanically introducing external resources or merely listing internal ones into the capacity to amalgamate all resources into a localized construction. This significantly improves the efficiency of resource utilization, forming a sustainable pathway for social work intervention in rural elderly care services, while also strengthening the sustainability of the outcomes of these services.

5. Discussion

Research on rural social work in developed countries is insufficient [46]. Existing practices and studies in this field often carry an urban-normative bias, obscuring the distinctiveness of rural settings and neglecting how social work in rural areas is influenced by organizational environments and cultural contexts [6]. In countries like Nepal and many African nations, social work remains influenced by Western-oriented theories, concepts, and methods, overlooking indigenous knowledge [8,47]. Therefore, research within rural communities is necessary to illuminate the need for the “localization” of social work [48]. In China, rural areas possess complex social structures, profound cultures, and local knowledge [49]. Upon entering the rural field, social workers are often perceived as experts possessing professional knowledge and external resources. However, this expert role can easily lead to the dilemma of “superficial engagement” in rural social work practice [5]. Professional knowledge is not absolute truth; the extensive local knowledge based on everyday life practices that exists within the rural field is equally foundational for effective practice. As this study demonstrates, the successful intervention of social workers in the rural field requires a profound shift in role perception—from expert to collaborator [50]. By integrating into the rural field through organizational structure, local culture, and practical action, social workers ultimately achieved effective integration of resources both within and outside the village. Currently, international rural social work primarily focuses on the influence of specific cultural backgrounds [51]. However, social work and social development practices that fail to interact with local politics and community realities are ineffective [52]. Therefore, it is important to clarify that the breakthrough of this study lies not only in its attention to local culture and service users but also in how, through “rural integration,” the dimensions of organizational and practical action integration emphasize interaction with local political organizations, placing greater emphasis on the mutual construction of action between social workers and other actors within the rural field.

Based on the above discussion, we can now delve deeper into the question: “Why focus on exploring the interaction between social workers and government/local political organizations?” The reasons, as demonstrated in this and other studies, are that government and local administrative organizations can provide fundamental funding and operational legitimacy for social work projects. From the perspective of legitimacy for social work action, the legitimacy support provided by government and local political organizations is particularly crucial when social workers first enter the rural field. Therefore, social workers need to coordinate with administrative work. However, after integrating into the rural context, it becomes evident that the effectiveness of the action legitimacy provided by government and local political organizations gradually diminishes. Through the process of resource linking and integration, social workers establish stable relationships with multiple actors within the rural context. Subsequently, the legitimacy of their actions comes to depend on the recognition of their professionalism by these other actors. The importance of social workers as “linkers” has been noted in numerous studies [14,53]. Social workers should place greater emphasis on more professional services. In implementing social work services for the elderly, it is necessary to deeply incorporate relevant concepts and methods from geriatric care and service disciplines, extending the service depth to include the management of age-related diseases [54]. Public elderly care services can promote the elderly to become members of endogenous mutual aid systems [55]. While enhancing the sustainability of outcomes through more professional elderly care services, this can also foster an increase in legitimacy based on professional recognition, indirectly strengthening the sustainability of the services. In this regard, future research could explore how social work generates action legitimacy based on professional recognition in concrete practice, further expanding the pathways for constructing legitimacy in the delivery of rural social work services.

Regarding the aspect of financial support, this is closely tied to the project-based system of social work. Project-based services (e.g., government-purchased) are prone to sustainability challenges due to short funding cycles and singular evaluation indicators, which can be almost fatal in resource-scarce areas [56]. Social work organizations and projects in China are particularly representative in facing this issue. Currently, the vast majority of social work projects in China are government-purchased, with rural social work projects expanding rapidly alongside relevant government policies on social work development and rural revitalization strategies. Other less developed countries and regions also exhibit a strong reliance on government support [47]. However, the stability of social work project progression can be significantly impacted by government policy changes and fiscal constraints. Simultaneously, the state-dominated role can negatively affect social workers’ engagement in social innovation. Social workers must find a delicate balance between their mission to assist rural communities in initiating social innovation and that of creatively collaborating with public institutions and policymakers [57]. Although the analytical conclusions of this study demonstrate the process through which social workers supplement resource deficiencies in rural elderly care via resource linking and integration, the sustainability after the termination of social work projects still requires in-depth exploration to overcome the drawback of excessive reliance on the government. From the perspective of social work organizations or social workers themselves, localizing practice models is a crucial pathway to enhance the sustainability of outcomes. When social workers engage in practices such as fostering mutual aid models and establishing comprehensive volunteer service point systems in rural areas, they should consciously summarize and refine these practices. They should proactively communicate with grassroots governments to advocate for integrating these practical achievements into local elderly care service policies or village regulations and conventions [58]. This combination of “top-down” and “bottom-up” approaches can provide rural elderly care practices with stable legitimacy recognition and resource infusion. Finally, ensuring service outcomes is also reflected in the sustainability of resources. Rural elderly care services cannot rely on the long-term “transfusion” from a single entity. Instead, efforts must be dedicated to constructing a localized elderly care ecosystem during the project period—one characterized by multi-faceted linkages and mutual support among “institutions, community, and market” [59]. This requires social workers to further strengthen resource linking and integration and to guide resource providers in establishing independent linkages among themselves. Its core lies in strengthening endogenous forces within rural communities. The paramount task for social workers should be to assist the community in establishing an organizational structure and dynamic mechanism capable of maintaining basic operation even after external support is withdrawn. Based on the above discussion, future research could focus on how social work organizations can develop self-sustaining capacity to ensure the sustainability of their own service provision when participating in rural social work services, as well as explore whether other pathways or models exist to guarantee the sustainability of project outcomes after project completion.

6. Conclusions, Limitations and Implications

6.1. Conclusions

The deepening of population aging and the growing demand for elderly care services in rural areas present a significant role for social work in the provision of these services. However, research remains insufficient on how social workers can adapt to the rural field and how they can promote the sustainability of rural elderly care services. Therefore, this study focuses on how social workers integrate into the rural field, explores the pathways and strategies that enable their sustainable involvement in rural elderly care, and analyzes how they integrate internal and external rural resources to establish a sustainable supply of resources for elderly care. Through a qualitative case study of Village N in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, the study examines the dual practice pathway of rural integration and resource integration adopted by social work in intervening in rural elderly care services. The research demonstrates that rural integration enhances the local adaptability of social workers once they enter the rural field. Specifically, integration strategies across the three dimensions of organization, local culture, and practical action—by acquiring legitimacy, activating collective cultural resonance, and achieving the localized construction of actions—further enhance the efficiency of integrating internal and external rural resources. They also facilitate a deeper fusion of local experiential knowledge from the rural context with the professional knowledge of social workers. In turn, the effective integration of resources consolidates the outcomes of social workers’ integration into the rural setting, forming a virtuous cycle that improves the sustainability of rural elderly care services. These findings indicate that, within the specific context of elderly care service provision in rural China, the core logic of social work practice should shift from project-based survival to community-based embeddedness. Future research on social work intervention in rural elderly care should place high importance on the degree of rural integration achieved by social workers.

6.2. Limitations

As a qualitative case study, this research has some inevitable limitations. First, the study relies on a single case and a limited interview sample, which means the findings carry a certain degree of particularity, and their generalizability is somewhat constrained. The process of “rural integration-resource integration” distilled from this study offers reference and insights for resource linkage practices in the progression of rural social work projects. However, its manifestations, challenges, and effects might differ in other types of villages. Future research needs to refine the applicable boundaries of this action pathway through comparative analysis of multiple cases.

Secondly, this study positions social workers as the primary subject of analysis, focusing on their practical pathways and strategies. The analysis of actions by other providers of rural elderly care resources revolves around the social workers’ practice pathways. However, this perspective carries a potential imbalance. Although other actors are influenced by the mobilization efforts of social workers, they still possess their own autonomous motivations and logic for action. Further in-depth analysis of this aspect remains to be supplemented.

Finally, a key focus of this study is to explain the process of social workers’ rural integration and its impact, subsequently linking it to resource integration. Nevertheless, there remains ample explanatory space from other theoretical perspectives, such as social exchange theory, relational network theory, or field theory. Subsequent research could expand by incorporating different theoretical lenses.

6.3. Implications and Recommendations

Education and practice in rural social work need to strengthen the integration of knowledge from rural sociology and anthropology. This involves cultivating social workers’ cultural sensitivity and local insight, and, in conjunction with the rural ecological environment, fostering a deep understanding of rural lifestyles, ethical challenges, and cultural nuances, thereby providing educational support for their role transformation from expert to collaborator. This urgently necessitates promoting the innovation of localization within social work education in terms of its theories and methods. Professional social work education and training should go beyond imparting universal theories and techniques, placing primary emphasis on cultivating the rural literacy of social workers. This includes systematically grasping rural social structures, local knowledge, and localized action logic. It should particularly focus on enhancing the ability to identify and utilize rural community assets, the capacity for translating and communicating local culture, the skill to construct and link localized relational networks, and the capability to nurture indigenous rural organizations. Regarding training methods, there should be widespread use of participatory workshops, localized case-based teaching, and long-term village-residency internships, enabling a deep fusion of professional social work knowledge with rural field experience. Concurrently, the role positioning of social workers must shift from “service deliverer” to “collaborator.” Their core collaborative strategy should involve building deep trust with key internal village groups, such as village cadres, rural elites, and enthusiastic residents. They should promote the establishment of regular collaborative deliberation mechanisms led by village-based actors, integrating professional knowledge into the localized action logic of the rural context, thereby achieving the transition from “embedding” to “integration.”

At the local governance level, the government needs to further strengthen the institutionalized role of social workers. The legitimacy of social work stems from government policies and institutional regulations. The government must first clarify the identity and functional positioning of social workers as “linkers,” “cultivators,” and “advocates.” Establishing full-time social work positions at township and village levels or nurturing locally based social workers provides a stable institutional foundation for the sustainability of social work services. Furthermore, it is necessary for the government to grant social workers the necessary “administrative legitimacy” through means such as official recommendations and joint actions, supporting their smooth integration into grassroots power networks. Local government performance evaluations should also incorporate process-oriented indicators like “cultivating endogenous elderly care capacity in rural areas” to guide the integration of grassroots administrative forces with professional social work expertise.

At the level of sustainable planning for rural elderly care services, it is essential to expand from achieving short-term project objectives to constructing a sustainable ecosystem for rural elderly care. This ecosystem should be a diversified and hybrid support ecosystem composed of government-provided basic guarantees, community mutual aid, the primary responsibility undertaken by families, participation from social forces, and market-based supplementary services. Secondly, capacity building is the core task of social work intervention. Sustainable rural elderly care services must rely on the growth of endogenous forces within the rural community. Social workers should empower rural areas, enabling them to develop the potential for self-organization, self-service, and self-development. Social workers need to cultivate volunteer teams and social organizations within the rural community, explore and plan local resources, and utilize these resources sustainably around elderly care needs. The perspective on sustainable development of rural elderly care services should shift from focusing on hardware resources to the retention of soft capacities. This means focusing on whether external interventions have successfully cultivated indigenous organizations, mutual aid norms, and cooperative networks capable of self-sustenance and evolution. To this end, it is necessary to innovate incentive-compatible motivation mechanisms that integrate modern mutual aid concepts with traditional values such as filial piety culture and neighborly bonds in rural settings. Systems such as “time banks” and “moral credit” should be designed so that public welfare contributions can be exchanged for social recognition, community benefits, or even material incentives, forming a virtuous cycle deeply embedded in rural society. Through such incentive mechanisms, a local elderly care talent pipeline can be established where social workers cultivate core members who, in turn, mobilize volunteers. On the other hand, it is crucial to explore the formation of a sustainable resource supply mechanism shared by multiple stakeholders, encouraging the reservation and revitalization of multi-functional mutual aid elderly care spaces in rural planning. Only through the above measures can exogenous interventions be transformed into endogenous motivation, ultimately and effectively enhancing the sustainability of rural elderly care services.