Person-centered care for older adults living in long-term care facilities: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Person-centered care (PCC) is the empowering approach of holistic care that shifts from a traditional biomedical framework to one that emphasizes older adults’ personalized preferences, abilities, and strengths. This systematic literature review aimed to describe the current status of research on PCC for older adults living in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). The method that conducted the search involved using 5 consistent keywords along with adding various descriptor terms to help narrow the search. A total of 18 articles were discussed in the final review after meeting all of the inclusion criteria. The results showed overall beneficial outcomes of PCC for institutionalized older adults, the importance of prioritizing residents’ preferences when implementing PCC, and perspectives of residents and staff workers on the state of PCC in their respective LTCFs, as well as what they think are barriers and facilitators. Identifying what the top shared preferences are is the first step to providing individualized PCC delivery that will improve the quality of care and quality of life for older adults living in LTCFs. Furthermore, taking into account both staff and residents’ perspectives will lead to an improved PCC climate in LTCFs that will enable better care outcomes.