Trajectories and Interrelationships of Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, and Compassion Satisfaction Among Family Caregivers of Disabled Older Adults: A Longitudinal Analysis.

As the global population continues to age, it has become increasingly vital for research to reflect the distinct needs, experiences, and priorities of older adults, particularly those living with frailty. Frailty, characterized by physical, cognitive, and social vulnerabilities, places older individuals at heightened risk for adverse health outcomes, diminished quality of life, and greater dependence on health care and social support systems []. Recent global estimates indicate that approximately 17% of community-dwelling older adults experience multidimensional frailty, reflecting vulnerabilities across various domains []. Prevalence is substantially higher in assisted living, where an estimated 52% of residents are affected by frailty []. Despite the high prevalence of frailty and the relevance of their lived experience, older adults living with frailty remain underrepresented in research, both as participants and partners [–]. Multiple barriers contribute to this underrepresentation. For research participants, restrictive eligibility criteria often exclude older adults based on advanced age, multimorbidity, or cognitive impairment, limiting opportunities for involvement from the outset []. Among those who are eligible, participation may be further constrained by study designs that lack appropriate accommodations, such as adapted consent materials, flexible scheduling, and transportation or mobility supports [–]. In addition, commonly used measurement approaches may not adequately capture outcomes that are meaningful or relevant to older adults []. Older adults living with frailty also face barriers to involvement as research partners, including assumptions about their capacity to engage in research activities and a lack of structures and supports that facilitate sustained participation in research planning and decision-making [–]. Together, these barriers limit opportunities for meaningful involvement and reduce the relevance, applicability, and impact of research findings for this population. Existing evidence highlights that engaging people with lived experience early in the research process can enhance ethical rigour, improve the quality of research outcomes, and facilitate more effective translation of findings into practice [, ]. In this review, refers to the involvement of older adults living with frailty as active contributors to the research process, rather than solely as research participants []. This includes a range of collaborative approaches through which these individuals help shape research priorities, study design, data collection and analysis, dissemination, and the implementation of findings. We use the term as an overarching concept to encompass diverse approaches that involve community members in research, including participatory, co-design, patient and public involvement, and related approaches. Here, refers to who is engaged rather than the setting in which engagement occurs.