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Designing a Palliative Care Pathway for Enhanced Dementia Care
Christine Jensen, Jenny Inker. Innovation in Aging, 2025-12-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Abstract Riverside Health has developed a new palliative care pathway to serve as an innovative standard of person-centered care for persons living with dementia (PLWD) and their care partners. Building on an existing interdisciplinary palliative care team (PCT) of a physician, nurse practitioner, and intake/nurse navigator, the positions of social worker, geriatric pharmacist, and spiritual care advisor were added to the team. The PCT have completed extensive training in dementia-specific palliative care, including risks for those who live alone, and those with developmental disabilities. Further, educational programs, in the form of microlearning lessons, have been designed and delivered to PLWD, their care partners, the PCT, and community-based partners. These microlearning lessons (brief bursts of targeted educational content) highlight the key elements of palliative care, which are often inaccurately equated with hospice care, and ways to address stigma associated with both a dementia diagnosis and enrolling in palliative care. The enhanced PCT has served more than 175 PLWD and their family caregivers, with resulting increases in quality of life and well-being for both PLWD and care partners. PLWD and care partners have expressed gratitude for social work support in connecting to resources, as well as the meaning that is provided through engaging with a spiritual care advisor. Additionally, comprehensive medication reviews provided by the geriatric pharmacist have resulted in a decrease in medication burden and an increase in adherence. Application of palliative care principles and lessons learned will be referenced for other health systems to consider.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Jensen, C., & Inker, J. (2025). Designing a Palliative Care Pathway for Enhanced Dementia Care. Innovation in Aging. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igaf122.2221
Vancouver
Jensen C, Inker J. Designing a Palliative Care Pathway for Enhanced Dementia Care. Innovation in Aging. 2025. doi:10.1093/geroni/igaf122.2221.
BibTeX
@article{jensen2025-4da5949c,
author = {Jensen, Christine and Inker, Jenny},
title = {{Designing a Palliative Care Pathway for Enhanced Dementia Care}},
journal = {Innovation in Aging},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1093/geroni/igaf122.2221},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igaf122.2221}
}
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.
Key findings
- These microlearning lessons (brief bursts of targeted educational content) highlight the key elements of palliative care, which are often inaccurately equated with hospice care, and ways to address stigma associated with both a dementia diagnosis and enrolling in palliative care.
Why it matters
This abstract describes a new palliative care pathway at Riverside Health that added a social worker, geriatric pharmacist, and spiritual care advisor to an existing team, plus dementia-specific training and microlearning lessons. The enhanced team served more than 175 people with dementia and their family caregivers, with reported increases in quality of life and well-being.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 27/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Innovation in Aging) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Innovation in Aging: journal h-index 48 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” 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 | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 0 / 7 | Cited 0 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.0 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 0 / 6 | Cited 0.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Jenny Inker: h-index 5 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Virginia Commonwealth University: institution h-index 851 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 27 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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