Family Involvement in Long-Term Care Settings
Summary
Family involvement in long-term care encompasses a spectrum of activities through which relatives of residents engage in promoting wellbeing, advocacy and continuity of care within residential facilities. Roles extend from providing emotional support and personal companionship to active participation in care planning, decision-making and daily tasks. Collaborative partnerships between family members and care staff are associated with enhanced resident quality of life, reduced caregiver distress and the implementation of more person-centred approaches. Nevertheless, meaningful involvement is often hindered by communication barriers, unclear role boundaries, staff turnover and organisational policies. Cultural norms, regulatory frameworks and resource availability further influence expectations around family engagement. Recent developments in digital communication, structured collaboration protocols and targeted support programmes have shown promise in addressing these challenges. A global perspective underscores that building mutual trust, fostering reciprocity and clarifying shared responsibilities are essential to harness the full benefits of family participation across diverse care settings.
Research from Nature Portfolio
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Family Involvement in Long-Term Care Settings publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in family involvement in long-term care settings across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Interprofessional collaboration: A coordinated approach in which healthcare professionals and family caregivers jointly plan, implement and evaluate care.
Psychoeducational intervention: A structured programme combining psychological support and educational elements to enhance coping and knowledge.
Care transition intervention: A targeted strategy designed to support individuals and their families during the move from home to long-term care settings.
Residential long-term care (RLTC): A care environment providing sustained accommodation and health support for individuals unable to remain at home.
References
- Tailored videoconferencing counselling program to support family carers of people living with dementia during the transition to permanent residential care: a pilot and feasibility randomised trial. BMC Geriatrics (2024).
- Factors influencing interprofessional collaboration in general and during multidisciplinary team meetings in long-term care and geriatric rehabilitation: a qualitative study. BMC Medical Education (2024).
- Family involvement in nursing homes: an interpretative synthesis of literature. Nursing Ethics (2022).
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