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What do community-dwelling people with dementia need? A survey of those who are known to care and welfare services
van der Roest HG, Meiland FJ, Comijs HC, Derksen E, Jansen AP, van Hout HP, Jonker C, Dröes RM.. International psychogeriatrics, 2009-07-15
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background The aging society will bring an increase in the number of people with dementia living in the community. This will mean a greater demand on care and welfare services to deliver efficient and customized care, which requires a thorough understanding of subjective and objective care needs. This study aims to assess the needs of community-dwelling people with dementia as reported by themselves and by their informal carers. The study also aims to give insight into the service use and gaps between needs and the availability of services. Methods 236 community-dwelling people with dementia and 322 informal carers were interviewed separately. (Un)met needs were assessed using the Camberwell Assessment of Needs for the Elderly (CANE). Results Most unmet needs were experienced in the domains of memory, information, company, psychological distress and daytime activities. People with dementia reported fewer (unmet) needs than their carers. Type and severity of dementia, living situation and informal carer characteristics were related to the number of reported needs. Conclusions This study showed a large number of unmet needs in dementia. Reasons for unmet needs are lack of knowledge about the existing service offer, a threshold to using services and insufficient services offer. These results provide a good starting point for improving community care for people with dementia.
Key findings
- Results Most unmet needs were experienced in the domains of memory, information, company, psychological distress and daytime activities.
- These results provide a good starting point for improving community care for people with dementia.
Why it matters
This survey of 236 people with dementia and 322 informal carers found many unmet needs, most often in memory, information, company, psychological distress and daytime activities. It is about community care needs and does not test any treatment or cure for dementia.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 44/100
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 (International psychogeriatrics) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | International Psychogeriatrics: journal h-index 161 (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 | 1 / 5 | 2009 — within 20 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 | 5 / 7 | Cited 241 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 12.7 citations a year over 19 year(s) since 2009 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 5.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 7 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 27 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Rose‐Marie Dröes: h-index 55 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Radboud University Nijmegen: institution h-index 1,143 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 19602305) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 44 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1017/s1041610209990147
- PubMed: 19602305
- Original source →
- Free full text: International Psychogeriatrics →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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. The record names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
van der Roest, H. G., Meiland, F. J., Comijs, H. C., Derksen, E., Jansen, A. P., van Hout, H. P., et al. (2009). What do community-dwelling people with dementia need? A survey of those who are known to care and welfare services. International psychogeriatrics. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1041610209990147
Vancouver
van der Roest HG, Meiland FJ, Comijs HC, Derksen E, Jansen AP, van Hout HP, et al. What do community-dwelling people with dementia need? A survey of those who are known to care and welfare services. International psychogeriatrics. 2009. doi:10.1017/s1041610209990147. PMID: 19602305.
BibTeX
@article{vanderroest2009-19602305,
author = {van der Roest, H. G. and Meiland, F. J. and Comijs, H. C. and Derksen, E. and Jansen, A. P. and van Hout, H. P. and Jonker, C. and Dröes, R. M.},
title = {{What do community-dwelling people with dementia need? A survey of those who are known to care and welfare services}},
journal = {International psychogeriatrics},
year = {2009},
doi = {10.1017/s1041610209990147},
pmid = {19602305},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1017/s1041610209990147}
}
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