Objectives: To identify the core elements of interventions and models that facilitate age-friendly care for older adults within rural Australian health systems, and assess the extent to which these align with core elements of the Institute for Health Improvement's (IHI) Age-Friendly Health Systems 4Ms Model.
Methods: Peer-reviewed journal articles examining core elements of Australian rural geriatric care models were collected and analysed using an integrative review methodology.
Results: Identified models and interventions addressed all four core elements of the IHI model-what matters, medications, mobility and mentation. There was more evidence relating to mobility and mentation, with lesser evidence relating to medications and what matters. A series of core elements not aligned with the model were also identified.
Conclusion: The IHI 4Ms Model appears to be applicable in the rural Australian context. More high-quality, systematic evidence is needed to investigate the core elements of age-friendly care across diverse rural contexts.
Keywords: geriatric health services; healthy aging; rural health.
© 2020 AJA Inc.