ORIGINAL ARTICLE Loss and grief: The experience of transition to residential aged care Gabriella Zizzo 1 Catherine Mackenzie 1 Carol Irizarry 2 Ian Goodwin-Smith 1 1 The Australian Alliance for Social Enterprise, UniSA Business, Adelaide, SA, Australia 2 College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia Correspondence Dr Gabriella Zizzo, The Australian Alliance for Social Enterprise, UniSA Business, Adelaide, SA, Australia. Email: gabbie.zizzo@hotmail.com Received 3 June 2019. Accepted 28 January 2020 Funding information AnglicareSA Abstract There is growing recognition of the experience of non- death-related loss and grief. One unexplored area of non- death-related loss and grief is associated with older people’s transition from home to residential aged care (RAC). This paper reports findings from a qualitative study that explored the experiences of people living in RAC, carer-rel- atives of people living in RAC and RAC staff. Using theo- ries of loss and grief, the paper identifies features of the transition to RAC that are associated with unresolved loss and maladaptation to changed circumstances, and the types of support that would mitigate these. Using a series of focus groups with both residents and carer-relatives, as well as staff, the study found that residents and their fami- lies need more support to negotiate the multiple, often nec- essarily hasty decisions and bureaucratic requirements associated with transitioning to RAC, while simultaneously experiencing loss and grief. The types of support that fami- lies would welcome from service providers include facilitat- ing shared decision making, valuing family and community carer expertise and providing practical information and assistance to fulfil administrative obligations. KEYWORDS aged care policy, ageing, loss and grief support, non-death-related loss, residential aged care DOI: 10.1002/ajs4.105 Aust J Soc Issues 2020;1–18 © 2020 Australian Social Policy Association 1