Visiting at Rural Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities: a review of the literature

Objective: This review of the literature was undertaken to assess the evidence regarding the social lives of the residents of rural Australian aged care facilities with a particular focus on the frequency of the visits that they receive. Design: A systematic review of the literature relevant to the social lives of residents of rural aged care facilities was conducted. Results: Social contact is important to the elderly and is particularly important to the frail elderly who reside in aged care facilities. However, there is evidence to suggest that the social networks of the elderly are contracting and that this contraction is particularly severe in rural areas. In addition, social contact, in the form of visiting, can be inhibited when an elderly person enters an aged care facility. While much of the literature asserts that the RE VIE W ARTICLE Visiting at Rural Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities: a review of the literature G Parmenter and M Cruickshank Dr Glenda Parmenter RN, BSocSci, MLitt, PhD Lecturer, Program Coordinator, Bachelor of Nursing School of Health, University of New England New South Wales, Australia Professor Mary Cruickshank PhD, MEdSt, BAppSc(AdvNsg) Nursing Theme Leader School of Health Sciences, Darwin University Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia Correspondence: [email protected] 62 Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management 2010; 5: