Integrated research: an approach suited to research in geriatric medicine

"Integrated research" appears increasingly in the biomedical literature yet is rarely defined. We describe the concept and examine its relevance to aging research. In a scoping review, PubMed was searched without date restriction for articles whose title contained the exact phrase "integrated research". Records were charted by year, field, article type and integration dimension. One hundred and six articles (1980-2026) spanned nursing, environmental science, imaging, pharmacology, oncology, infectious disease, psychiatry, public health and geriatrics. Six recurring meanings emerged: integration of research with clinical care; across disciplines; with education; with policy and management; with practice and implementation; and of data, infrastructures and methods. Few addressed aging directly, mainly via research-practice partnerships, longitudinal cohorts and community-based sites. Integrated research is a polysemous, unifying construct, not a standardized method. Montpellier's Integrated Research Center for Autonomy and Longevity (Ircal) fosters collaborative aging research uniting hospitals, care providers, health systems and economic partners.