Health and social care interventions in the 80 years old and over population: an evidence and gap map

Worldwide, the population is ageing. As the population ages, so does the prevalence of age-related diseases such as arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes, hypertension, cancer and dementia, increasing the demand on health and social care services. The evidence underpinning treatments and interventions for most health and social care issues is derived from populations younger than 80 years of age because this age group is often excluded from taking part in clinical trials. This raises concerns that many established treatments may not be the most suitable or effective approach for those aged 80 years or more.

What is the project doing?

Our aim was to produce an interactive evidence and gap map to provide an overview of the volume, diversity and nature of the evidence on health and social care interventions that target adults over 80 years of age.

Specifically we hoped to answer these three questions:

• What is the scale and focus of interventions in health and social care designed for or evaluated on those aged 80 years and over?
• What is the nature and breadth of qualitative evidence relating to how those aged 80 years and over perceive interventions aimed at their health and social wellbeing?
• Is there evidence or gaps in the research in this population related to health equity?

As methodologists we recognise the importance and value of people with lived experience of caring for people over 80 and so invited people with experience of acute geriatric care, rehabilitation for older adults, community pharmacy and dementia to join the authorship team.

We consulted with additional wider topic experts (older adult academic, community rehabilitation academic, practicing public health practitioner (older adult focus)) at the start of the project when we were first developing the framework (for purposes of sense checking and ensuring we had captured the broad spectrum of interventions and likely outcomes) and when we first drafted the map (to understand its usability and to explore their perceptions about what it found, what was surprising and what was missing from their perspectives).

We also had meetings with older adults who are part of the PenARC patient engagement group (PenPEG) to define the scope of the EGM and develop the framework with respect to identifying relevant interventions and outcomes. We also consulted with them to establish how the early findings of the map resonated with their understandings and whether they thought there were areas of evidence not covered within the map and what surprised them.

What do you hope to achieve or change?

As the worldwide population continues to age it is increasingly important that we have evidence of appropriate effective interventions for those who have reached their 80s, 90s and beyond, a group often left out of trials. The recent joint statement of intent relating to integrating older age into health and care research from NIHR and other funding bodies (NIHR, 2025) recognises that older adults are disproportionally underrepresented in research and calls for a commitment to actively support the inclusion of older adults in research, particularly where health conditions have a particular impact on this group.

Transformations in healthcare systems are happening worldwide. Focusing on what matters most to patients and the community, being person-centred, investing in wellness and utilising digital innovation is seen across health strategies worldwide. In the UK, there has been a call for a shift in healthcare: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention (UK Government, 2025).

This evidence and gap map shows where we have good evidence from health and social care interventions for those aged 80 years or more, and areas where we have no or little evidence. This will be useful for both policy makers and researchers alike. The map also shows whether researchers have sought views from those delivering of receiving interventions for those aged 80 years or more.

References

NIHR. (2025). Statement of intent: Integrating older age into health and care research. Retrieved 15/08/25, from. https://www.nihr.ac.uk/about-us/who-we-are/research-inclusion/statement-intent-integrating-older-age

UK Government. (2025). Fit for the future: The 10 year health plan for England.