Revisiting quality of life for elders in long-term care: an integrative review.

Purpose: To review the literature on quality of life (QOL) among elders in long-term care settings, specifically focusing on measurement of QOL, influencing factors, and interventions to improve QOL.

Conclusion: Multiple instruments were used to measure QOL with little overlap and limited ability to compare across studies. Categories of influencing factors included physical function, environment, social support, and mood/spiritual. Interventions targeted changes in environment, physical activity, and meaningful interaction.

Practice Implication: Knowledge of the factors influencing QOL and findings from research on interventions will assist nurses in individualizing care approaches to improve QOL among elders in long-term care settings.