An increasing number of older people with severe mental illness (SMI) poses additional challenges to healthcare and social services. This scoping review aimed to investigate the life situation of older people living with severe mental illness and identify the research gaps in the existing literature. The current review followed the methodological framework for conducting scoping reviews by Arksey and O'Malley, consisting of five main stages: (1) identifying the research question (2) identifying relevant studies, (3) selecting the studies, (4) charting the data, and (5) collating, summarising, and reporting the results. An optional sixth stage, a consultation exercise, has also been used in this study: The scoping review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews PRISMA-ScR, and the databases PsychINFO Scopus, Cinahl, Web of Science and PubMed were used. A total of 24 studies were included in the review. The thematic analysis focused on: (1) the perspective of older people with SMI, (2) the perspective of healthcare professionals supporting older people with SMI, and (3) the perspective of informal carers supporting older people with SMI. The results describe the life situation of older people living with SMI, especially in relation to the older peoples' experiences of suffering and well-being. The staff and the informal carers need adequate knowledge to provide support to the older people with SMI. To gain greater knowledge about the life situation and support needed by older people with SMI, we strongly advocate additional research focusing on their own experiences.

Introduction and Aim: There is limited scientific knowledge about older people with severe mental illness and the support they receive in municipal housing and home care. Greater knowledge of their life situation can contribute to the development of support and care interventions for the target group. The aim was to describe how older people with severe mental illness experience their life situation and the support they receive in their daily lives in ordinary housing or care homes.

Method and Results: The project is a part of an EU project “Innovatedignity” focusing on sustainable and dignified care for older people. Thirteen lifeworld interviews were conducted with older people (11 women and 2 men), between 65 to 81 years of age, with severe mental illness who receive support and care from municipal care staff in their own home or in special housing in the municipality. The interviews were conducted in the older people’s homes, lasting between 40 to 60 minutes. The interviews were characterized by openness and flexibility towards the phenomenon of the study “the life situation and support in everyday life and in the home”. The opening questions were: “Can you tell me about a usual day in your life?” and “How do you experience the support you receive from municipal care staff in your everyday life and in your home?” The data was analyzed with a phenomenological meaning analysis based on a Reflective Lifeworld Research (RLR) approach.All of the older people with severe mental illness had experiences of being treated or cared for in mental hospitals or psychiatric care homes earlier in their lives. Preliminary findings indicate that their everyday life was characterized by routines, such as eating, receiving help with cleaning and personal hygiene, and going for walks, watching television, or smoking. The older people in special housing talk of there being some members of staff who they feel they can trust and who they feel understand them, but they have little contact or connection with the other residents. Their contact with other residents was minimal because they do not have a sense of companionship with them or have the same interests. The older people in ordinary housing receive less support from municipal care staff, and most of this support was for cleaning and purchasing food and other supplies.

Conclusion: To conclude, the result is characterized by a sense of loneliness and a lack of belonging, even though the majority lived in housing together with others. There is a challenge for the municipalities to create accommodation for elderly people with severe mental illness that can feel like a home and not an institution with locked doors and long corridors.

Purpose: A patient is vulnerable and exposed due to illness, relies on and surrender to other people. In caring this means a special dependency. The aim of this study was to describe the origin of the concept ‘exposed’, to elucidate how the definition of this term has changed over time, and to outline its relevance in caring science. Method: A semantic concept analysis in two phases was conducted. Results: The findings show that over time, the degree of binding of the following synonyms has become stronger; unprotected/defenseless, naked/bare, pressed/jostled and unsafe/unprotected and can easily be transferred to a clinical nursing context. Conclusions: This study provides a deeper understanding of the concept 'exposed' semantically. Being exposed is a profound experience for patients who need to be seen as the person they really are. A life-world led care has an existential power that can support professionals, strengthen patients’ health processes, and alleviate the patient’s suffering.

The aim was to describe and gain a greater understanding of the phenomenon “caring-learning space” based on the perspectives of patients, nursing students, and supervisors in clinical practice contexts.

A general structure of the phenomenon “caring-learning space” was created based on essential structures from five empirical studies. The analysis is based on a reflective lifeworld research approach (RLR).

The “caring-learning” space shows itself in terms of interpersonal relationships between patients, students, supervisors, and other actors in the care environment. It is first when the learning space is accepted as a part of caring, that a “caring-learning space” is created. A flexibility and a receptivity are seen where the learning is allowed to become visible and be integrated in the caring processes when caring and learning to interact.

A caring-learning space is established by the patient being the focal point, but also a co-creator in caring as well as learning regardless of her/his health status. This entails that the ”caring-learning space” exists when patients, students, supervisors and other healthcare professionals interact based on their ability and role in the space.KEYWORDS:

Background: Digital technologies facilitate everyday life, social connectedness, aging at home, well-being, and dignified care. However, older adults are disproportionately excluded from these benefits. Equal digital opportunities, access, and meaningful engagement require an understanding of older adults’ experience across different stages of the technological engagement life cycle from nonuse and initial adoption to sustained use, factors influencing their decisions, and how the experience changes over time.

Objective: Our objectives were to identify the extent and breadth of existing literature on older adults’ perspective on digital engagement and summarize the barriers to and facilitators for technological nonuse, initial adoption, and sustained digital technology engagement.

Methods: We used the Arksey and O’Malley framework for the scoping review process. We searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science, and ACM digital library for primary studies published between 2005 and 2021. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed based on the Joanna Briggs Institute (participants, content, and context) framework. Studies that investigated the digital engagement experience as well as barriers to and facilitators of older adults’ digital technology engagement were included. The characteristics of the study, types of digital technology, and digital engagement levels were analyzed descriptively. Content analysis was used to generate tentative elements using a congruent theme, and barriers and facilitators were mapped over the capability, opportunity, and motivation behavior change model (COM-B) and the theoretical domain framework. The findings were reported in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews).

Results: In total, 96 publications were eligible for the final charting and synthesis. Most of the studies were published over the past 5 years, investigated the initial adoption stage of digital engagement, and focused on everyday technologies. The most cited barriers and facilitators across the engagement stages from each COM-B component were capability (eg, physical and psychological changes and lack of skill), opportunity (eg, technological features, environmental context, and resources), and motivation (eg, optimism from perceived usefulness and beliefs about capability).

Conclusions: The COM-B model and theoretical domain framework provide a guide for identifying multiple and intertwined barriers and facilitators at each stage of digital engagement. There are limited studies looking into the whole spectrum of older adults’ digital technology experience; in particular, studies on technological nonuse and sustained use stages are rare. Future research and practice should focus on tailored interventions accounting for the barriers to older adults’ digital engagement and addressing capabilities, motivation, and opportunities; affordable, usable, and useful digital technologies, which address the changes and capability requirements of older adults and are cocreated with a value framework; and lifelong learning and empowerment to develop older adults’ knowledge and skills to cope with digital technology development.

Background:

There is an ongoing negative narrative about aging that portrays older people as a socioeconomic burden on society. However, increased longevity and good health will allow older adults to contribute meaningfully to society and maximize their well-being. As such, a paradigm shift toward healthy and successful aging can be potentially facilitated by the growing digital technology use for mainstream (day-to-day activities) and assisted living (health and social care). Despite the rising digital engagement trend, digital inequality between the age groups persists.

Objective:

The aims of this scoping review are to identify the extent and breadth of existing literature of older people’s perspectives on digital engagement and summarize the barriers and facilitators for technological nonuse, initial adoption, and sustained digital technology engagement.

Methods:

This review will be based on the Arksey and O’Malley framework for scoping reviews. The 6-stage framework includes: identifying research questions, identifying relevant studies, study selection, charting the data, summarizing and reporting the results, and a consultation exercise. Published literature will be searched on primary electronic databases such as the Association of Computing Machinery, Web of Science, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and ScienceDirect. Common grey literature sources will complement the database search on the topic. A two-stage (title/abstract and full article) screening will be conducted to obtain eligible studies for final inclusion. A standardized data extraction tool will be used to extract variables such as the profile of the study population, technologies under investigation, stage of digital engagement, and the barriers and facilitators. Identified and eligible studies will be analyzed using a quantitative (ie, frequency analysis) and qualitative (ie, content analysis) approach suitable for comparing and evaluating literature to provide an evaluation of the current state of the older person’s digital engagement. Inclusion will be based on the Joanna Briggs Institute–recommended participant, concept, and context framework. Articles on older people (65 years and older), on digital technology engagement, and from a global context will be included in our review.

Results:

The results of this review are expected in July 2021.

Conclusions:

The findings from this review will identify the extent and nature of empirical evidence on how older people digitally engage and the associated barriers and facilitators.