Aged Care Facilities: Literature Review and Research Gaps

This literature review evaluates the subject of aged care facilities, highlighting research gaps and future research opportunities. It discusses the quality of life problems of the aged care facilities for the elders and the importance of promoting aged care facilities. The review also identifies the resources of the previous research within this topic.

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Aged care facilities
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Literature review
Introduction
Global ageing population has led to increase in demand for aged care facilities globally. Aged
facilities are the long-term care services provided for older individuals who may not be taken
care well at home because of the health and social aspects (Bauer et al 2015). With an aim to
satisfy the diverse care and various social welfare policies, there have been different kinds of
aged care facilities. For instance, in Australia, aged care facilities are offered for the older
people who are physically frail so they are dependent whilst assisted living facilities are offered
to those older people that have greater level of physical dependence along with the self care
capabilities (Villarosa, Wang and George, 2018). Aged care facilities are the generic terms
accustomed to explain these numerous forms of the residential provision (Blumenthal and Hsiao,
2015). The quality of life continues to be found to be an important predictor of the mortality,
physical dependence together with service usage amongst the older people (Villarosa, Wang and
George, 2018). Aged care facilities acquainted with home the elders probably will come across
reduced quality of life because of the deteriorated health issue, changes in the living
environment, inflexibility of daily routine along with altering of the social interactional design
(Villarosa, Wang and George, 2018). Thus, promoting aged care facilities remains to be known
as the optimal goal to the residential care in the well being and sociable perspective (Blumenthal
and Hsiao, 2015). There are many studies that have highlighted the quality of life problems of
the aged care facilities for the elders which have been published particular in the last decade. In
this literature review it would research, analyse and describe the aged care facilities subject
evaluating on various resources and identify the resources of the previous research within this

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topic. Moreover, it would define on the gaps in this subject on what has been missing from the
review to ensure future research study could be undertaken.
An aged care capability is a home that provides accommodation along with types of support ,
which included assistance with daily living, extensive form of care, along with assistance when it
comes to impartial living, to frail and aged residents (Gordon , Harrison and Miller, 2015). These
types of features happen to be accredited by the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency
Ltd in order to get funding from Australian Government by the residential aged care subsidies
(Gordon, Harrison and Miller, 2015). There has been numerous definitions which have been
utilized in the health and community services firms in relation to the residential aged care, and
residential aged care facilities. Many of these definitions revolve around the services given in the
residential aged care features.
As Australian population continues to age rapidly, the provision to the long term aged care
facilities for the older Australians become increasingly urgent issue (Villarosa, Wang and
George, 2018). The current system for the aged care facilities relies majorly on the informal
which is unpaid caregivers. These are middle aged females (Villarosa, Wang and George, 2018).
Majority of who are employed. The typical care recipient, most often a parent, is also a female.
This is because women tend to live longer and often outlive their spouses. Based on Masso,
McCarthy and Kitson (2014), family caregivers they devote some amount of time to help their
relative, about one third of the caregivers report provides more than 21 hours of help per week.
Additionally, many caregivers offer assistance for long periods of time, with 40% having offered
assistance for the last 5 years. There are numerous studies which have examined adverse
impacts of care giving on physical as well as psychological health of the informal caregivers. For
example, Pinquart (2003) had conducted Meta analysis of 228 studies and concluded that the

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studies consistently report a higher level of depressive symptoms along with mental health issues
amongst the caregivers than the non-caregivers (Villarosa, Wang and George, 2018). The aged
care facilities in Australia offers client with the support they need in order to live life on their
terms (Gordon, Harrison and Miller, 2015). Their services usually comprise of ageing in place,
respite care, palliative care along with specialist dementia care. The facilities have wide age
healthcare support for the individuals with numerous care needs (Gordon, Harrison and Miller,
2015). Additionally, they offer variety of aged care service alternative to short stays, respite care
and various degree of personal service.
Over the decades, aged care has been studied and at the same time developed as a result from
institutionalizing, over medicating as well as patronizing care to more holistic (Gordon, Harrison
and Miller, 2015). There have been new policies especially in Australia which has been made in
order to secure the quality of care in all the municipalities but the process is still ongoing
(Drummond et al 2015). Legislation of the care given as well as the accessibility to the care has
been under constant debate. According to care Brownson, (2017), established that care plan has
been the foundation of the quality aged care. This foundation offers a documented structure or
perhaps the core to the care given and the tools to the care givers in order to offer aged a planned
good care (Brownson, 2017). A care plan needs to be realistic, preventive and rehabilitative and
done together with all the parties which are involved to the care. Various aged care facilities and
support options have been available to the homeless and formerly homeless older adults in
Australia (Tan et al 2015).
Aged care facilities, provided by social rather than the health care employees, could be a
significant part when it comes to the long term care (Ostaszkiewicz, Tomlinson and Hutchinson,
2016). Historically, it has been known that aged care facilities have catered for the less

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dependent older individuals as compared to the nursing homes (Masso, McCarthy and Kitson,
2014). However, the recent census carried out as found a substantial overlap in relation to
dependency and nursing care demands because of illness or perhaps disability with aged between
both kinds of facilities (Masso, McCarthy and Kitson, 2014). With longer survival forecasted,
and number of aged care places set to build, it is crucial to deem available study evident
associated with this kind of setting (Ostaszkiewicz, Tomlinson and Hutchinson, 2016).
Additionally it is crucial that you note there have been substantial debates about the relationship
between the quality of care and quality of life as a joint, however it is possibly not competing,
assesses of the quality (Ostaszkiewicz, Tomlinson and Hutchinson, 2016). Studies indicated that
aged care facilities perceptions of the nursing employees are a good guidelines with regards to
the quality of care (Ostaszkiewicz, Tomlinson and Hutchinson, 2016). The importance of the
measures of the social care along with the homeliness epitomizes the division that is present
between health and sociable treatment provision in the aged care facilities (Masso, McCarthy and
Kitson, 2014). Other elements impacting aged care facilities satisfaction with care comprise
employees’ levels, workers turnover, involvement of families, meal time experience, individual
control, and recreational activities.
Research gaps
Generally, there have been few studies reports particularly on the aged care facilities
(Ostaszkiewicz, Tomlinson and Hutchinson, 2016). Most of the researches have been done on
the nursing homes, a few other researches has made absolutely no variance between the nursing
and residential homes, using the umbrella term of care homes to be able to comprise of both
(Ostaszkiewicz, Tomlinson and Hutchinson, 2016). It is thus, essential to note that there is
certainly research gap in this area, hence, the researcher need to concentrate more on the aged

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care facilities (Masso, McCarthy and Kitson , 2014). The literature on the enhanced care has
focused on the quality of the clinical care. However, in the literature there have been facts that
medical cover for care home residents remains to be sub optimal (Villarosa, Wang and George,
2018). Consequently, care should be constrained in order to provide a greater realm for the
proactive as well as preventive interventions.
There has been limited research in regards to the health status of aged in the aged care facilities,
some of whom might have unmet health requirements (Mossialos, Wenzl Osborn and Sarnak,
2016). Additionally there is some proof of self funded, minimal dependency admission to the
nursing homes. An assortment of both higher dependency aged in the aged care facilities and
lower dependency aged in the nursing homes signifies that placement considerations must be
enhanced.
Current future research
Perhaps the key point emerges from this review is on the limitations to the present evidence
based on models of the housing with care. The empirical knowledge base is expanding. There
has been number of ongoing research projects, which include ongoing comparative evaluation to
various models of aged care facilities for later life. It is important for the researchers to have
similar investigations into this crucial area research.
Conclusion
In this literature review has brought about research on improving care in aged care facilities as
requirements to older individuals. It aims to make clear for agenda for the policy makers and
practitioners, highlighting areas for future research and at the same time enhance further
discussion of the significant topic subject. Most of the studies have been conducted in the

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nursing homes; there have been little evidence on the aged care facilities, though many of the
studies have made no difference between the two. In this literature review, it has discussed the
subject of aged care facilities. The review has discussed numerous researches done by various
authors. Moreover, the review has carried out research gap in this research area.

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