Family involvement in residential long-term care: a synthesis and critical review.

The objective of this review is to critically synthesize the existing literature on family involvement in residential long-term care. Studies that examined family involvement in various long-term care venues were identified through extensive searches of the literature. Future research and practice must consider the complexity of family structure, adopt longitudinal designs, provide direct empirical links between family involvement and resident outcomes, and offer rigorous evaluation of interventions in order to refine the literature.