Identification of research gaps to improve care for healthy ageing: a scoping review

Objective: Several research gaps affect the improvement of care for healthy ageing. Their identification is crucial to developing a specific research prioritisation agenda supporting progress at the micro (clinical), meso (service delivery) and macro (system) levels. To achieve this, a scoping review was carried out to describe the most significant gaps impeding the improvement of care for healthy ageing.

Design: A scoping review of the literature was conducted according to the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. The selected articles were analysed to identify topics or areas essential for improving care for healthy ageing but requiring further support from research.

Eligibility criteria: Every type of scientific article, except for randomised controlled trials, was considered of potential interest without restrictions on publication date, type of publication and methodology.

Information sources: A systematic search (last search: 6 December 2023) was conducted using PubMed, MEDLINE and Scopus.

Results: Overall, 1558 articles were retrieved from the literature. Of these, 310 were finally retained for this work. A total of 1195 research gaps were identified (average: 3.85 per article) and clustered into the 13 primary areas: ageing, care approach, caregivers, health economics, health, interventions, policies, research, settings, training, technology, specific populations and understanding the older person. In particular, research for improving the person-centred approach (n=38), better considering cultural diversities (n=27), implementing integrated care (n=25) and ensuring access to care (n=25) were the most prevalent priorities reported in the literature.

Conclusions: A wide range of factors spanning multiple disciplines, from clinical to policy levels, require special consideration, exploration and resolution. The findings of this scoping review represent an essential step in identifying gaps for developing a research prioritisation agenda to improve care for healthy ageing.