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 residents of aged care facilities have robust social lives, there is some evidence to suggest that, over the past two decades, these people have become increasingly at risk of becoming isolated from their social networks. Conclusions: Social isolation may have serious consequences for the quality of life of residents of rural aged care facilities and there is a dearth of recent research regarding the factors that determine the frequency of the visits that they receive.