Background and Objectives Despite acknowledged benefits of residents in nursing homes spending time outdoors, little is known about factors related to their use of outdoor space. This systematic review summarizes reported barriers and enablers to nursing home residents’ use of outdoor spaces. Research Design and Methods Multiple databases were searched to May 2018. Qualitative or mixed methods studies describing barriers/enablers to use of outdoor areas by residents of nursing homes (aged 65 years and older), as reported by residents, staff, or family members were included. Study quality rating, thematic analysis, and stratified analyses were performed and confidence in findings assessed using GRADE-CERQual. Results Twenty-four studies were included. Nineteen collected data from residents, 15 from staff/caregivers, 7 from families. Major themes and key findings concerned: design of the outdoor area (importance of garden greenery and built features), safety concerns and staffing issues, weather and seasons (appropriate shade and shelter), design of the main building (easy to open doors and nearby access points) and social activities. Conclusions and Implications Providing gardens with seasonal plants and interactive features, weather protected seating, manageable doors at accessible thresholds, planned social activities, and appropriate clothing are fundamental to facilitate nursing home residents’ access to the outdoors. Cultural change at an organizational level, addressing perceptions of safety as a barrier is important. Incorporation of the recommendations in this review by architects, facility managers, and policy makers in the design and management of nursing homes, may increase use of outdoor areas and improve the quality of life of residents. Registration The protocol is registered in Prospero (CRD42018100249).

The purpose of this article is to map the data currently available on the subject of eating practices and food environments in small (i.e. one- and two-person) households. Specifically, the enquiry is focused on commensality; the act of eating together. Research dates from the late 1980s, however, there are few recent publications on this subject. Searching Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest and Google Scholar, 2949 papers were found, but only 457 discussed any element of the research questions. These were further distilled to a count of 117, by abstract reading to 53 at which point, quality, location and study focus eliminated a further 34 articles leaving 19 articles. After full reading, it was clear that only seven of these focused on the research question in detail and these are marked as four-star articles by bold text. The 19 articles are analysed for quality and their aspects of relevance to the central research question is discussed.