Facilitators and Barriers of Social Participation of Older Adults: Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies

As the population of older adults is increasing, the number of older adults exposed to vulnerability of social isolation is also growing. It has been reported that maintaining regular level of social participation in old age is closely related to health, well‐being and cognitive benefits. Previous studies on factors that affect older adults’ social participation have mainly focused on logistical barriers. However logistical barrier alone is not sufficient to understand the factors of older adults’ social participation. The purpose of this study is to systematically examine the facilitators and barriers of older adults’ social participation, and to present basic data that comprehensively consider the individual, environmental and social contexts to promote the older adults’ social participation.