View article

To identify the theories and concepts related to building age‐friendly rural communities.

Global population is rapidly ageing. Creating environments that support active ageing was a catalyst for the World Health Organization to develop Global Age‐Friendly Cities guidelines. Although the age‐friendly movement has captured the attention of some countries, little is known about the participation of older people in rural settings.

An integrative review approach was employed to summarise the research literature on this topic. Using a systematic search strategy, databases including Discover (EBSCO's electronic database system), Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Medline and Google Scholar were searched. Primary, peer‐reviewed studies were included if published during 2007–2014 in the English language.

Nine studies were eligible for …