Background: Research is needed for pragmatic and sustainable solutions to the ongoing food and nutrition concerns in residential aged care, including the failure to reduce the rate of malnutrition, meeting requirements for increased choices and the need for person-centred approaches.
Aim: To identify systemic challenges for residential aged care homes in Australia to participate in quality food and nutrition research, using a complexity science lens.
Methods: Qualitative data consisting of in-depth interviews, field notes and email communications from three studies conducted in residential aged care across 3 years (2019–2021) were analysed according to the six phases of thematic analysis, using both inductive and deductive approaches.
Results: Participants (n = 28) across 21 residential aged care homes in Australia were included. Four challenges were identified, including (1) complex staffing issues deter or impede participation in research, (2) external pressure on the aged care system leads to research not being a priority, (3) funding issues are variable and pose a barrier for some aged care homes and (4) research processes and requirements can lead to biased samples.
Conclusion: Issues within the foodservices in residential aged care are complex systems issues that require quality pragmatic research to determine sustainable solutions, which provides opportunities for dietitian-nutritionists. Research needs to be part of usual business in residential aged care and operate independently of staffing and funding issues. Partnerships between researchers, research institutions and aged care providers committed to change are needed to break down these barriers.