4.5 Review

Do communication interventions affect the quality-of-life of people with dementia and their families? A systematic review

Journal

AGING & MENTAL HEALTH
Volume -, Issue -, Pages -

Publisher

ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2023.2202635

Keywords

Dementia; caregivers; quality of life; communication; therapy

Ask authors/readers for more resources

This review explores the quality-of-life outcomes of communication-related interventions for people with dementia and their families. The results show that multi-disciplinary interventions, involvement of family caregivers, and functional communication interventions can improve the quality-of-life for people with dementia, but the impact on family members is limited.
ObjectivesSpeech, language and communication difficulties are prevalent in all dementia subtypes and are likely to considerably impact the quality-of-life of people with dementia and their families. Communication interventions provided by trained professionals are recommended for this population, but little is known about their quality-of-life outcomes. This review aims to explore the quality-of-life outcomes of communication-related interventions for people with dementia and their families.MethodsSeven databases were systematically searched. Reference lists from included studies and relevant systematic reviews were also hand-searched. Primary research with quantitative quality-of-life outcomes were included. Narrative analysis was utilised to identify key intervention features and to describe quality-of-life outcomes.Results1,174 studies were identified. Twelve studies were eligible for inclusion. Studies were heterogeneous in location, participant group, methodologies, interventions and outcome measures. Four studies reported increased quality-of-life for people with dementia following intervention. No studies reported increased quality-of-life for family members.ConclusionFurther research is needed in this area. The studies which reported improved quality-of-life involved multi-disciplinary approaches to intervention, involvement of family caregivers, and functional communication intervention. However, data is limited so results should be interpreted with caution. The standardised use of a communication-focused quality-of-life outcome measure would improve sensitivity and comparability of future studies.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.5
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available