Understanding the enablers to implementing sustainable health and well-being programs for older adults in rural Australia: A scoping review

Introduction

Supporting the health and well-being of older Australians necessitates the implementation of effective and sustainable community-based interventions. Rural settings, however, pose unique challenges to intervention implementation and sustainability, with limited research exploring strategies employed to overcome these complexities.

Objective

To identify enabling strategies that support the sustainable implementation of community-based health and well-being interventions for older adults in rural Australia.

Design

A scoping review, following methods by Arksey and O'Malley and enhanced by elements of the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR), was conducted. An electronic search of seven databases was completed in April 2023. A thematic analysis was applied to provide a comprehensive and contextualised understanding of the phenomenon of interest.

Findings

Of 1277 records screened, 15 studies were identified and included for review. Five themes identified key enablers for rural implementation: (1) Co-designing for the local context; (2) Embedding local champions; (3) Leveraging existing local resources; (4) Maintaining impact beyond the end of the funded period and (5) Flexibility in funding models.

Discussion

The sustainable implementation of interventions requires active community involvement and consultation through all stages of program design and delivery to effectively meet the health and well-being needs of older rural-dwelling Australians.

Conclusion

Our findings advocate for clear implementation guidelines to support the design, delivery and adaptation of community-based programs that appropriately reflect the unique contextual needs and strengths of rural communities.