Shifting the aged care culture from caring “for” residents to caring “about” residents: Advocating for a compassionate communities approach to care

This study makes three contributions to ageing policy discourse. First, it provides empirical evidence that despite policy directives towards person-centred care, residential aged care continues operating through institutional "caring for" rather than relational "caring about" frameworks. Second, it reveals implementation gaps in palliative care policies, particularly in bereavement support and family involvement in care decisions. Third, it proposes a compassionate communities approach to care as a social practice and policy framework addressing both quality concerns and sustainability challenges.