What are the priorities for research of older people living in their own home, including those living with frailty? A systematic review and content analysis of studies reporting older people’s priorities and unmet needs

Background There is limited evidence regarding the needs of older people, including those living with frailty, to inform research priority setting.

Objectives This systematic review aimed to identify the range of research priorities of community-dwelling older people living in their own home, including those living with frailty.

Methods Included studies were from economically developed countries and designed to identify the priorities for research or unmet needs of community-dwelling older people. Studies were excluded if they described priorities relating to specific health conditions. Medline, Embase, PsycInfo and CINAHL were searched (January 2010–June 2022), alongside grey literature. Study quality was assessed, but studies were not excluded on the basis of quality. A bespoke data extraction form was used and content analysis undertaken to synthesise findings.

Results Seventy-five reports were included. Seven explicitly aimed to identify the priorities or unmet needs of frail older people; 68 did not specify frailty as a characteristic. Study designs varied, including priority setting exercises, surveys, interviews, focus groups and literature reviews. Identified priorities and unmet needs were organised into themes: prevention and management, improving health and care service provision, improving daily life, meeting carers’ needs and planning ahead.

Discussion Many priority areas were raised by older people, carers and health/care professionals, but few were identified explicitly by/for frail older people. An overarching need was identified for tailored, collaborative provision of care and support.

Conclusion Review findings provide a valuable resource for researchers and health/care staff wishing to focus their research or service provision on areas of importance for older people.