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The aim of this scoping review is to describe the published gerotranscendence interventions targeting older adults’ caregivers and their outcomes.

Six databases were searched, and three studies were selected for analysis: one short-term quasi-experimental study and two observational studies.

The interventions consisted in an instructional moment about the gerotranscendence theory and a moment for sharing personal perceptions.

Gerotranscendence interventions can be essential for the caregivers to have a better relationship with the older adults, as they could improve their perception on their needs. Even though the interventions presented promising results benefiting caregivers and older adults, none of the studies confirmed that these changes persisted in the long term and additional studies are needed to robustly investigate this subject.

In Portugal, the three main kinds of care services available for older people are nursing homes, day centers and home care services. The use of these care services is mostly based on complex socioeconomic and functional criteria; however it is not clear if this placement corresponds to a higher/lower risk of adverse outcomes. The purposes of this paper are: to characterize clients of each type of service; to estimate the proportion of individuals at perceived risk of each adverse outcome according to type of service; to assess the ability of the Risk Instrument for Screening in the Community (RISC) to identify the risk profiles according to type of service.

The sample comprised individuals aged 65+ (n=224), receiving care at home, in day centers or in nursing homes. The identification of individuals at risk for three adverse outcomes (institutionalization, hospitalization and death) was performed using a short pre-screen instrument (RISC).

The RISC identified mental state issues as the unique factor that differentiated clients according the type of care services (χ² (6, N=224)=20.96, p=0.002), with day center presenting the lowest percentage of mental health concerns and nursing home presenting the highest percentage (44.44 and 71.91 percent, respectively). Additionally, a gradient was found between perceived risk of adverse outcomes (institutionalization and hospitalization) and care of levels required.

The RISC can be used to discriminate people in different settings of care and can be helpful in the selection of groups at risk that will benefit more from available services.