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Dementia and communication comorbidities within the context of caregiver support systems: a scoping review
Nisha Dhanda, Emil Basil Scaria. BMC geriatrics, 2025-12-04
Topic: Health services, long-term care and technology
A total of 228 articles were screened at the title and abstract levels, and 120 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. 23 eligible studies were included in the narrative synthesis. Most of these studies were conducted in the United States of America (47.8%) and Europe (43.5%). The studies used various designs, with an almost equal number of cohort studies (30%), qualitative studies (26%), and experimental studies (26%). The key themes identified were as follows: adult day service use reducing caregiver burden, educational interventions reducing caregiver burden, supportive technologies, caregiver counselling, perspectives of informal caregivers and PLWD, perceptions of staff caregivers. Only one study addressed hearing loss as a communication comorbidity. The findings highlight the potential value of adult day-care services, caregiver counselling, educational interventions, and supportive technologies in dementia care. Future research that focuses on specific interventions tailored to dementia and communication comorbidity needs and integrating them into care plans can reduce the caregiver burden.
Key findings
- A total of 228 articles were screened at the title and abstract levels, and 120 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. 23 eligible studies were included in the narrative synthesis.
- Most of these studies were conducted in the United States of America (47.8%) and Europe (43.5%).
- The studies used various designs, with an almost equal number of cohort studies (30%), qualitative studies (26%), and experimental studies (26%).
- The key themes identified were as follows: adult day service use reducing caregiver burden, educational interventions reducing caregiver burden, supportive technologies, caregiver counselling, perspectives of informal caregivers and PLWD, perceptions of staff caregivers.
- Only one study addressed hearing loss as a communication comorbidity.
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Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Participants228
- Effect size47.8%; 43.5%
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 71/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record, multi-centre collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 40 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 71 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (BMC geriatrics) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 228 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41345569) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 40 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 40 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 71 out of 100. |
| Total | 71 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Dhanda, N., & Scaria, E. B. (2025). Dementia and communication comorbidities within the context of caregiver support systems: a scoping review. BMC geriatrics. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-025-06622-0
Vancouver
Dhanda N, Scaria EB. Dementia and communication comorbidities within the context of caregiver support systems: a scoping review. BMC geriatrics. 2025. doi:10.1186/s12877-025-06622-0. PMID: 41345569.
BibTeX
@article{dhanda2025-41345569,
author = {Dhanda, Nisha and Scaria, Emil Basil},
title = {{Dementia and communication comorbidities within the context of caregiver support systems: a scoping review}},
journal = {BMC geriatrics},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1186/s12877-025-06622-0},
pmid = {41345569},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-025-06622-0}
}
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