The effects of spending time outdoors in daylight on the psychosocial wellbeing of older people and family carers : a comprehensive systematic review protocol

Spending time outdoors in daylight has shown to provide substantial benefits for older people’s psychological wellbeing. Good psychosocial wellbeing is essential in maintaining overall health as people age and often reflects adequate physical functioning. Psychosocial wellbeing encompasses behavioral disturbances, cognition, mood, quality of life (QoL), self-rated health, social interaction and satisfaction of service provision if a person is living in a residential aged care facility (RACF). Spending time outdoors in daylight is often difficult for older people as a result of increasing frailty, environmental barriers and poor health. Other psychological limitations include a fear of falling and a fear of sun-exposure-related cancers. Therefore, the ability of older people to interact with the outdoors is lessened, and research commonly reports that older people do not spend enough time outdoors in the daylight.