Personalized dementia care: proven effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in subgroups

Abstract

Many psychosocial intervention studies report effects in subgroups of people with dementia. Insight into the characteristics of these subgroups is important for care practice. This study reviews personal characteristics of people with dementia (living in the community or in an institution) that are related to positive outcomes of psychosocial interventions. Electronic databases and key articles were searched for effect studies published between January 1990 and February 2008. Outcome measures were clustered into categories such as cognitive functioning, behavioural functioning and mental health. Seventy-one studies showed positive outcomes on psychosocial interventions, such as decreased depression and less behavioural problems, related to personal characteristics of people with dementia, such as gender, type or severity of dementia, presence of behavioural or mental health problems, and living situation. For people with dementia living in the community positive effects were most frequently found in the persons with mild to severe dementia not otherwise specified and with mild to moderate Alzheimer's Disease. For people with dementia living in an institution positive effects were found most frequently in the subgroups moderate to severe dementia, severe to very severe dementia and in the subgroup with behavioural problems. This study provides a unique overview of characteristics that are related to effective intervention outcomes. It also suggests that more research will lead to a better understanding of which care and welfare interventions are effective for specific subgroups of people with dementia.