Long-term care of older persons

While individuals of all ages may face chronic illnesses, functional impairments, and the need for care, these challenges are especially common among older adults, who are rapidly becoming one of the largest demographic groups. Addressing the needs of older people requires a tiered system of professional support in conjunction with informal care that encompasses prevention, counselling, everyday assistance, as well as intensive social, nursing, therapeutic, and medical care.

Over recent decades, many countries have expanded, refined, and professionalized long-term care for older people, establishing it as a central domain of nursing practice. This research area is centred on exploring how health, well-being, and social participation among older and care-dependent individuals can be effectively promoted across diverse long-term care settings. In doing so, we ultimately aim to identify strategies for ensuring high-quality, sustainable delivery of long-term care across various contexts.

Publications (selection)

  • Spichiger, F., Koppitz, A. L., Riese, F., Kipfer, S., Nagl-Cupal, M., Büscher, A., Volken, T., Larkin, P., & Meichtry, A. (2025). Person Profile Dementia Intervention in Long-Term Care: A Stepped-Wedge Cluster-Randomized Trial. JAMDA. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 26(1). doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2024.105351
  • Lüdeke, A., & Heimerl, K. (2024). Soziale Teilhabe von Bewohner*innen im Pflegeheim: Lehren aus der Pandemie. In K. Heimerl & S. Millius(Hrsg.), Total Pain in der Palliativen Geriatrie. Vom Umgang mit dem existentiellen Schmerz im hohen Alter (S. 109-116) Hogrefe.
  • Reitinger, E., Pichler, B. , & Heimerl. K. (2024). Forschen mit Menschen im hohen Alter und mit Hilfebedarf: Solidarität und Verbundenheit. In K. Merlitsch, B. Hipfl, V. Kumpusch, P. Roeseling (Hrsg.). Intersektionale Solidaritäten: Beiträge zur gesellschaftskritischen Geschlechterforschung (S. 131-135). Barbara Budrich.
  • Tauzer, J. (2024). “‘Male magnets’, ‘firecrackers’, and ‘fussy Englishmen’: An ethnographic investigation of the influence of gender norms on well-being in an English care home” (Doctoral dissertation). Birmingham City University. https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/15756/
  • Hamacher, M., Weiß, C., & Hämel, K. (2023). Mundgesundheit im Pflegeheim als interprofessionelle Aufgabe. Ergebnisse einer qualitativen Befragung von Pflegefachpersonen und Zahnärzt*innen zu ihrer aktuellen und zukünftigen Zusammenarbeit. Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie, 56(8), 667-672. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00391-022-02132-5
  • Tauzer, J., Cowdell, F., & Nässén, K. (2023). From ethical approval to an ethics of care: Considerations for the inclusion of older adults in ethnographic research from the perspective of a ‘Humanisation of Care Framework’. Journal of Aging Studies, 69, 100-110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2023.101162
  • Tauzer, J. (2023). Accessing a “bounded space”: An ethnographic map of a residential care home for older persons during COVID-19. Aging and Health Research, 15, 123-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahr.2023.100141
  • Heimerl, K. (2022): Pflegeheime als Caring Institutions. In Kojer Marina, Schmidl Martina, Heimerl Katharina (Hg) (2022): Demenz und Palliative Geriatrie in der Praxis. 3. Überarbeitete Auflage. Wien, New York: Springer, 319-332
  • Hämel, K., & Röhnsch, G. (2021). Between social inclusion and exclusion: Integration of daycare guests in the nursing home setting. The Gerontologist, 61(7), 1030-1040. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnaa157
  • Röhnsch, G., & Hämel, K. (2021). Co-production in coping with care dependency in Germany: How can integrated local care centers contribute? Health & Social Care in the Community, 29(6), 1868-1875. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13300
  • Reitinger, E., Schuchter, P., Heimerl, K., Wegleitner, K. (2018). Palliative care cultures in nursing homes: the relatives´perspective. Journal of Research in Nursing. 23(2-3), 239-251.
  • Hämel, K. (2016). Making nursing homes more community-oriented: Insights from an exploratory study in Germany. Ageing & Society, 36(4), 673-693. doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X14001391
  • Reitinger, E. & Heimerl, K. (2014). Palliative Care in Nursing Homes: Ethics and gender - issues and processes. International Journal of Older People Nursing, 9, 131–139.https://doi.org/10.1111/opn.12049