BMC Geriatrics is calling for submissions to our Collection on Long Term Care Environments.
Supported by a cultural change movement, a fundamental shift in thinking about long-term care environments has emerged. Long-term care environments may include the home, the community, assisted living facilities, care homes or any facility where people receive long-term care. While long-term care may be needed by people of any age, it is much more commonly required for older people who are increasingly living with complex conditions.
Within this collection at BMC Geriatrics, we are interested in attracting a wide range of submissions which focus on long-term care environments. We are interested in evidence pertaining to physical, social and organisational aspects of the long-term care environment as noted below, however submissions do not need to be strictly limited to these.
- Physical aspects, such as the architecture, lay-out, sensory elements, interior and outdoor areas;
- Social aspects, that is the interactions with others, including residents, staff, family but also relations with the wider community and social context (e.g., local entrepreneurs, societies, and schools).
- Organizational aspects, including the organization of care, clinical education, service delivery, and organizational culture (e.g., values, expectations, attitudes that guide behavior of staff working in long-term care).
More knowledge is imperative regarding the environmental working mechanisms and their impact on daily functioning and well being of those living, working and visiting long-term care environments. Innovative, alternative care environments are being developed, that have radically changed the long-term care environment, such as dementia villages, green care farms, small-scale, homelike care environments. Understanding of the changing role of staff is warranted, how to support remaining capacities and support their autonomy. How can a partnership with family be realized to provide person-centered and tailor made care? Technology could play a role in realizing a caring environment, for example by using AI supported approaches to care.
The special issue welcomes primary research, review papers, quality improvement studies adhering to the SQUIRE 2.0 reporting framework and other studies contributing to the knowledge base of innovation in long-term care, presenting evidence from cutting edge studies advancing our understanding of long-term care environments and contributing to a system redesign in long-term care. Within this collection we will also accept a small number of discursive commentaries which are able to progress international understanding about physical, social and organizational aspects of long-term care environments.
