Abstract

Speech, 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.

Methods

Seven 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.

Results

1,174 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.

Conclusion Further 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.

Citations

Anna Hockley, Deborah Moll, Jemima Littlejohns, Zoe Collett & Catherine Henshall (2023) Do communication interventions affect the quality-of-life of people with dementia and their families? A systematic review, Aging & Mental Health 20th April 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2023.2202635

URI: https://www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/orka/title/do-communication-interventions-affect-the-quality-of-life-of-people-with-dementia-and-their-families-a-systematic-review/