**Background:** The older population is increasing and living longer, leading to a rising demand for long-term care across Europe. Older people often present with complex care needs due to advanced age and multiple chronic conditions, requiring comprehensive fundamental nursing care addressing nutrition, mobility, elimination, personal hygiene, and other physical, relational, and psychosocial needs. Despite the recognized importance of fundamental nursing care, research indicates that such care is often in poor condition, fragmented, and discontinuous. Fundamental nursing care needs such as mobilization, nutrition, and hygiene among older people appear to be systematically rationed by nursing staff. Continuity of care is described as a key indicator of quality of care, known to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions, lower costs, and decrease mortality. However, knowledge about long-term care services' ability to provide optimal and comprehensive fundamental nursing care consistently over time is sparse. The implementation of distinctly articulated nursing interventions—such as well-defined models of care, patient care pathways, or clinical practice guidelines—may help nursing staff deliver fundamental nursing care in a continuous, optimal, and predictable manner that corresponds to older patients' preferences and needs. Recent literature reviews suggest that such interventions targeting fundamental nursing care and/or continuity of care among older people in long-term care are scant.
**Methods:** This scoping review will be conducted according to Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework, with updates from Levac et al., Daudt et al., and Bradbury-Jones et al. The protocol adheres to the PRISMA-P checklist and is registered at Open Science Framework (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/XJ39E). Searches will be conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO, limited to 2002–2023, as initial test searches indicated a lack of published peer-reviewed papers on fundamental nursing care before 2002. Only published peer-reviewed research in English will be included. The search strategies were developed with an information specialist at Karlstad University, Sweden, and will include controlled subject headings (MeSH), keywords, synonyms, and Boolean operators. A modified PICOS framework (Population: older people 65+, nurses, relatives; Intervention: fundamental nursing care and nursing interventions; Comparison: N/A; Outcome: physical, relational, or psychosocial needs, continuity of care, nursing interventions; Study setting: home-based or facility-based long-term care) will guide eligibility determination. All study designs are eligible. The first and last authors will review 5%–10% of the gross selection to ensure agreement on eligibility decisions. Title and abstract screening will use the PICOS framework in Rayyan, with a 'sifting' approach and frequent meetings to resolve conflicts. Data charting will use an extraction form; the first, second, and last authors will pilot 20% of eligible papers to ensure appropriate data capture. Methodological quality will be assessed using critical appraisal tools appropriate to each study design, and ethical assessment will follow Weingarten et al.'s framework. Results will be collated using basic numerical analysis, mapping charts and tables, and thematic analysis focusing on semantic and manifest descriptions. The PAGER framework (Patterns, Advances, Gaps, Evidence for Practice, Research Recommendations) will be used to structure reporting. The research team will hold regular meetings with key reflective questions.
**Key Results:** This is a protocol paper; no results from the scoping review are reported. The protocol describes the planned methodology for the upcoming scoping review.
**Clinical Implications:** The findings from the upcoming scoping review are intended to support the initial phase of the Medical Research Council framework for complex interventions. The knowledge gained will serve as a theoretical underpinning for the possible development of an educational intervention targeting fundamental nursing care, aiming to improve continuity of care and address older people's needs in long-term care settings. The review may help identify knowledge gaps and make clear statements about where future research focus should be directed, potentially reducing research waste.