TOPIC

Older adults research

Everything we have read on older adults. Each paper is summarised from the full article rather than its abstract, so the limitations are in there too, and the funding wherever the paper declares it.

283 PAPERS · PAGE 2 OF 6 · NEWEST FIRST

• RNOther2025Translation, Adaptation, and Criterion Validation of the Family Caregiver Assessment Tool for French-Speaking Cardiovascular Patients in Canada (FAM-CAM-Fr).The Canadian journal of nursing research = Revue canadienne de recherche en sciences infirmieresIn 100 cardiovascular inpatients, the French caregiver FAM-CAM-Fr detected 58% of diagnosed delirium cases and rarely raised false alarms. Use it to add family observations, not to replace nurse assessment.
• RNCohort2026Predictors of Pressure Injuries in Older Residents Living in Nursing Homes in Sri Lanka: A Prospective Multi-Site Cohort Study.Journal of advanced nursingIn Sri Lankan nursing homes, having a pressure injury at baseline and having more medical devices were the only factors that predicted a new pressure injury in the final analysis. Check skin and device placement closely.
• RNQualitative2025Try to Look Again: A Phenomenological Study of Recognising Humanness in People Living With Advanced Dementia.Scandinavian journal of caring sciencesResidents with advanced dementia expressed humanness through everyday actions, relationships, and attempts to make sense of their surroundings. Behaviours such as aggression, repetition or apathy may be human expressions that need a second look.
• RNCohort2025Diagnoses Associated With Hospitalization of Nursing Home Residents With Severe Functional Impairment and Terminal Illness.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationNursing home residents with severe impairment or terminal illness had many potentially avoidable hospitalizations and ED visits, often from UTI, pneumonia, head trauma, and feeding-tube problems.
• RNSystematic Review2025Transportation Services in Society for Individuals Living With Dementia in Long-Term Care Facilities: A Scoping Review.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationOnly five studies examined transportation insecurity for residents with dementia in long-term care. None used a standard measure or fully described needs, affordability, accessibility, or dementia type and stage, so there is little evidence to guide care.
• RNCase Series2025Potential Influence of Acute Dysregulated Sleep on Fall Incidence Among Low-Income Older Women: A Case Study.Journal of gerontological nursingTwo low-income older women had sleep differences the night before a fall: one slept 267 minutes versus a 429-minute average; the other had more deep sleep and less REM sleep. This cannot prove sleep caused the fall.
• RNQualitative2025Nurturing Connection: The Emotional and Existential Dimensions of the Relationship Between Older Women and Registered Nurses in Aged Care.Scandinavian journal of caring sciencesOlder women and home-care nurses described their relationship as more than task delivery. Women valued nurses who noticed their home, shared life beyond care, and stayed consistent; nurses felt time and turnover made this hard.
• RNOther2026Mealtime Support by Direct Care Workers in Long-Term Care Facilities: Secondary Behavioural Analysis of Videos.Journal of advanced nursingVideo analysis of dementia mealtime care in South Korean long-term care found support was mostly affirmative but narrow. Workers spent most time on one-to-one assistance, rarely used names, comfort checks, or alternatives when residents refused.
• RNQualitative2025Digital Health Applications in Access to Health Service From the Perspective of Older Adults: "It Is Difficult to Keep up With the Digital Age …".Public health nursing (Boston, Mass.)Nine older adults in Türkiye said digital health apps were either easy or hard, often because steps were confusing, they feared mistakes, or they lacked training. Only three used services alone. Nurses cannot assume older patients can use appointment systems independently.
• RNCohort2025A Multi-Outcome Prognostic Model for Community-Dwelling Older Adults Admitted to Skilled Nursing Facilities for Post-Acute Care.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationA model using age, diagnoses, hospital stay and comorbidities estimated death within 6 months and successful return to the community after skilled nursing. It can guide goals-of-care and discharge planning, but was not tested outside Medicare data.
• RNSurvey2025The role of aesthetics in promoting health-related quality of life for older adults transitioning to long-term services and support.Geriatric nursing (New York, N.Y.)Among 376 older adults newly entering long-term care, greater enjoyment of sensory experiences was linked to more positive social interaction and stronger religious or spiritual disposition. Nursing home residents reported lower aesthetic enjoyment than those in home and community services.
• PTRNCohort2025Family Caregiver Availability and Capacity Associated With Home Health Service Types for Patients With Dementia.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationFor home health patients with dementia, clinician-reported lack of caregiver capacity for functional tasks was linked to receiving physical therapy; lack of caregiver availability for medical tasks was linked to receiving skilled nursing.
• RNOther2026Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Informal Carer Experiences of Older Adult Care Transitions From Hospital to Home: A Scoping Review.Journal of advanced nursingCulturally and linguistically diverse family carers often faced language barriers, were left out of discharge planning, and were unprepared for wound care, medication and symptom monitoring. Some interventions helped carers, but support was often not tailored to culture.
• RNSystematic Review2025Effectiveness of Group Interventions With Socially-Assistive Robots for Older Adults: A Systematic Review.Journal of nursing scholarship : an official publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of NursingRobot-assisted group sessions often engaged older adults and increased conversation, but cognition, agitation, and depression showed no clear difference from control groups.
• PTRNCohort2025Changes in Physical Activity Among Spanish Kidney Transplant Recipients: A 12-Month Longitudinal Study.Journal of renal careKidney transplant recipients reported lower activity at 3 months after surgery. Activity partly rebounded at 6 months, then fell again, and was lower at 12 months than before transplant.
• PTOTRNRCT2025A Cross-Lagged Panel Model Testing the Impact of Physical Activity During Hospitalization on 1- and 6-Month Discharge Physical Activity and Adverse Events Among Older Adults With Dementia.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationOlder adults with dementia who were more physically active at hospital discharge had lower odds of falling and being rehospitalized within one month. Activity levels did not drop after these adverse events occurred, suggesting discharge mobility is a key protective factor.
• RNOther2026Quality of Dying Among Institutionalised Nursing Home Residents From the Caregivers' Perspective: A Mixed-Methods Study.Journal of advanced nursingFamily caregivers rated nursing home end-of-life care as generally acceptable, with good symptom control and personal care, but closure and final practical matters were weaker, especially when residents had cognitive impairment.
• PTRNSurvey2025Cognitive Frailty and Its Risk Factors Among Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease Receiving Hemodialysis: A Cross-Sectional Study.Nursing & health sciences9% of hemodialysis patients had cognitive frailty, meaning physical frailty, cognitive functional decline and depressive symptoms together. Malnutrition risk and physical inactivity were associated with it.
• RNRCT2025Pilot Test of Aprendiendo Juntos/Learning Together Demonstrates Improved Self-Efficacy for Providing Care Among Latino Family Caregivers of Persons Living With Dementia.Western journal of nursing researchLatino caregivers of people with dementia who took a six-week online course in Spanish or English reported feeling more confident in providing complex care. The course improved self-efficacy but did not change caregivers' mental health or their view of the patient's behaviors.
• PTOTRNOther2026Safe Mobility in Hospitalised Older Adults: A Concept Analysis.Journal of clinical nursingPromote hospitalised older adults' active movement while reducing severe fall and immobility harms, rather than preventing every fall. This concept analysis defines safe mobility; it does not test patient outcomes.
• RNQualitative2026Weathering the Double Storm-Resilience in Chinese Older Cancer Patients With Long COVID: A Qualitative Study.Journal of advanced nursingOlder Chinese cancer patients with long COVID described fatigue, brain fog, cough and urinary symptoms being dismissed, and said infection precautions led to social isolation and loneliness. They also reported nurses providing fatigue pacing, emotional validation and support connections.
• RNSystematic Review2026Virtual Nursing in Residential Aged Care: What Is Known? A Rapid Review.Journal of advanced nursingVirtual nursing in residential aged care showed mixed effects on emergency presentations and hospital admissions. Nurses and staff reported better confidence and communication, but technology, records, training and missing resident feedback limit certainty.
• RNQualitative2026Engagement in Medication Communication During Transitions of Care for Rural Aged Care Residents and Family Caregivers: A Qualitative Study.Journal of clinical nursingRural aged care residents and family caregivers often learned about medication changes only after the fact, and many felt excluded from decisions. They wanted written lists, simple explanations, and staff who knew them.
• RNSystematic Review2025Navigating Everyday as Partners to Persons With Early Dementia: A Scoping Review.Scandinavian journal of caring sciencesSpouses caring for partners with young-onset dementia reported unmet needs for information, emotional support, respite, and service navigation. They often felt isolated, exhausted, and unsupported. These are caregiver experiences, not proof that support programmes work.
• RNOther2026Development and Validation of the End-of-Life Assessment Tool for Advanced Dementia: A Multi Method Study.Journal of advanced nursingIn 113 residents with advanced dementia, a 27-item nurse assessment with a score of 14.5 or higher flagged risk of death within 180 days, but it was much better at spotting risk than excluding it.
• RNQualitative2025Nurse-Led Goal Setting Activities to Enhance Older Adult Health Care and Self-Advocacy.International journal of older people nursingOlder adults in low-income senior housing set goals around safe mobility, managing health, independence and relationships. They identified barriers such as pain, transportation and busyness, and facilitators such as routine and regular check-ins.
• RNRCT2026The Effect of the Care Ecosystem Collaborative Care Model on End-of-Life Outcomes for People With Dementia and Their Caregivers.The American journal of hospice & palliative careThe telephone Care Ecosystem did not improve caregiver satisfaction with end-of-life care for people with dementia. Caregivers in that group had higher self-efficacy before death.
• RNQualitative2025Infection-Control Protocol Acceptability in Skilled Nursing Facilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationStaff and residents in two nursing homes generally accepted color-coded infection-risk pairing, though many residents did not understand the system and worried about segregation. Clear communication about reassignments was the main implementation need.
• RNCohort2025Social Connectedness and Successful Nursing Home Discharge After Heart Failure Hospitalization.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationIn veterans after heart failure hospitalization who entered skilled nursing care, staff-rated high social connectedness was linked to successful community discharge within 90 days. It was an association, not proof that boosting connection causes better discharge.
• RNOther2025Association of Language Barriers and Depression Among Latino and Non-Latino White US Nursing Home Residents.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationDepression was common among nursing home residents, but Latino residents were less likely to have depression documented, especially those needing a Spanish interpreter. This may signal under-recognition, not lower need.
• RNQualitative2026Frail Older Patients' Experiences During Boarding in the Emergency Department: A Qualitative Study.Journal of advanced nursingFrail older patients waiting in an emergency department described feeling forgotten and unsure who was responsible, with unmet pain, hunger, thirst and privacy needs. They still trusted nurses and hoped care would come when ward admission arrived.
• RNQualitative2026A Descriptive Qualitative Study of Patient and Carer Perspectives on the Acceptability of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation.Journal of advanced nursingPatients valued TAVI for relieving breathlessness and restoring independence, but discharge left them anxious due to missing information about the procedure's success and physical limits. Carers reported feeling uninformed about what happened during surgery and how to support recovery.
• PTOTRNRCT2025Pulmonary Rehabilitation Exercise Package for Enhancing Health in Elderly COPD Patients With Frailty: An Experimental Study.The journal of nursing research : JNRA 4-week pulmonary rehabilitation package significantly reduced shortness of breath and improved walking distance and leg strength in frail older adults with COPD compared to routine care. It also reduced frailty scores at one month. The intervention included breathing exercises, bed exercises, and education.
• RNOther2026Research Priorities for Nursing and Allied Health: A Priority-Setting Project Using a Partnership Approach.Journal of advanced nursingPatients, carers and clinicians in two Australian hospitals prioritised access, patient journey, streamlining care, dementia and delirium, mental health, older adults, carers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and workforce. These are nursing and allied health research priorities, not tested care changes.
• PTRNCase Report2026Review of Perioperative Care in Elderly Patients With Esophageal Hiatal Hernia and Cardiopulmonary Disease.Gastroenterology nursing : the official journal of the Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and AssociatesAn 86-year-old man with a large hiatal hernia and heart failure completed laparoscopic repair after multidisciplinary prehabilitation, monitoring, and infection care. He left hospital 11 days after surgery and had no symptoms at 3 and 6 months.
• OTRNCohort2025Skilled Nursing Facility Population Characteristics and Length of Stay: A Prospective Cohort Study.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationResidents dependent in daily activities and those with vascular or surgical devices stayed longer in a skilled nursing facility; dependence in daily activities was the strongest factor tied to longer stays.
• PTRNOther2025Assessment of Fall Risk in Community-Dwelling Older Adults Using the Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries Algorithm.Nursing openSTEADI screening found 59.6% of community older adults at fall risk, versus 39.5% by questionnaire alone. Physical tests added mobility, balance, and strength concerns. Participants set goals for safety and exercise.
• RNCohort2025Frailty and arteriovenous fistula patency in elderly hemodialysis patients: a retrospective cohort study.Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da U S PFrail elderly hemodialysis patients required significantly more surgical interventions to keep their fistulas working. They also had higher mortality and longer delays before first use. These findings suggest fistula creation may offer fewer short-term benefits for this group.
• RNSystematic Review2026A Systematic Review of the Needs of Children and Young People of a Parent Diagnosed With Young-Onset-Dementia: Informing a Nursing Intervention.Journal of advanced nursingChildren with a parent diagnosed with young-onset dementia carry heavy caregiving loads that disrupt school, sleep and social life. They often hide their parent's condition due to stigma and lack age-appropriate support from health and education services.
• RNQualitative2025Family Caregivers' Experiences With Follow-Up Healthcare for Frontotemporal Dementia: A Narrative Inquiry.Scandinavian journal of caring sciencesFamily caregivers of people with frontotemporal dementia felt sidelined when patients still had consent capacity, and said staff lacked FTD knowledge, leaving care unsafe and not personalised.
• RNOther2025Characterizing symptom clusters for older adults with urinary incontinence in home healthcare.Geriatric nursing (New York, N.Y.)Most home healthcare episodes for older adults with urinary incontinence had no tracked symptoms documented. When symptoms appeared, anxiety, dizziness, constipation, and a complex all-symptom cluster emerged; dizziness-anxiety was tied to a history of two or more falls.
• OTRNQualitative2026Structural Resilience Across the Life Course: Perspectives From Older Adults Racialized as Black.Journal of advanced nursingOlder adults racialized as Black described community and societal resources such as schools, healthcare, housing, and community groups as safeguarding, empowering, or restoring them across life. Financial support, home modifications, and hospice care were part of these accounts.
• RNCohort2025Beyond Somatic Multimorbidity: Longitudinal Effects of Edentulism and Mental Health on Cognition in Older Adults.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationIn older adults with chronic conditions, complete tooth loss was linked to faster cognitive decline over time. Mental health conditions alone were linked to lower starting cognition but not faster decline.
• OTRNOther2025Adverse Social Determinants of Health and Urinary Incontinence Among Older Adult Women in Home Health Care.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationOlder women in home health care with documented unsafe housing, financial strain, or food insecurity were more likely to have urinary incontinence. Ask about these social risks and consider continence evaluation and home modifications.
• PTOTRNOther2025Stigma Towards Hospitalised Older Adults: A Concept Analysis.Nursing openHospitalised older adults face stigma as age-based assumptions, exclusion from decisions, neglected pain care and rehabilitation, and dismissive communication. These practices are associated with withdrawal, poorer recovery, disability and delayed discharge.
• OTRNSystematic Review2026How Can We Improve Personal Care Interactions to Reduce Care Refusals From People With Dementia? A Realist Synthesis.Journal of advanced nursingPeople with dementia may accept personal care when they trust the caregiver and feel safe. The synthesis proposes strategies like offering limited choices, connecting respectfully, simplifying care, and addressing pain or thirst first. These are proposed theories, not tested interventions.
• PTOTRNCohort2025Frailty, Nutrition, and Quality of Life in Urban-Dwelling Older Adults Facing Vulnerability: Observational Study in Primary Heath Care Settings in Underpopulated Areas.Nursing & health sciencesPoor functional independence and performance were the strongest indicators of vulnerability in older adults in Brazilian primary care, and poor nutrition was also linked. Quality of life was linked to vulnerability but was not analyzed as a predictor.
• RNPilot2025Exploring the Feasibility of the LEAD Trial: Online Dyadic Dementia Care Planning for Early Alzheimer's and Other Dementias.The American journal of hospice & palliative careCare partners' confidence in making medical decisions improved and stayed high for six months. Their relationship strain with the person with dementia also dropped. The web-based planning tool was feasible but did not change the care recipients' own relationship scores.
• OTSLPRNQualitative2026Bridging the Social Gap Through 'Conscious Caring': A Constructivist Grounded Theory of the Art of Caring for Older Adults With Dual Sensory Impairment.Journal of advanced nursingFamily carers of older adults with dual vision and hearing loss described becoming the communication bridge in daily life and health care visits. They said the impairment was often mistaken for normal ageing, leaving them isolated and unsupported by task-focused services.
• RNOther2026Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the MISSCARE Survey-Patient-Danish Version.Journal of advanced nursingAn adapted MISSCARE survey let Danish hospital patients report missed nursing care, especially gaps in physical, emotional and relational care, but it was not tested again over time.