Partnerships to prepare undergraduate nursing students to care for older adults: a scoping review

As the population ages and more older adults require support either in Residential Aged Care or through community-based services, the demand for skilled Registered Nurses in this field continues to rise.

This scoping review aimed to identify undergraduate nursing educational interventions co-designed, developed and delivered in partnership with Residential Aged Care and/or an aged care service in the community.

Nine databases were searched: Education Research Complete, ERIC, Academic Search Premier, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) Plus with Full Text, OVID, APA PsycINFO, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. This scoping review sought to collate and synthesise primary and peer-reviewed published data in English between 2014 and 2024, using keywords aligned with 'service learning' and 'undergraduate nursing students'. In total, 287 records were initially reviewed, and 10 were included in data extraction and analysis.

Three central themes were identified: (i) partnerships can create innovative and engaging learning experiences; (ii) collaborative models have the potential to challenge and reduce negative stereotypes about aged care and (iii) the success of these initiatives relies on thoughtful planning and context-specific implementation.

Partnerships between universities and aged care providers can enhance the learning environment for undergraduate nursing students.