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Review
. 2022 May 31;22(1):468.
doi: 10.1186/s12877-022-03103-6.

Characteristics of dementia-friendly hospitals: an integrative review

Christina Manietta  1   2 , Daniel Purwins  3   4 , Anneke Reinhard  3 , Christiane Knecht  4   5 , Martina Roes  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Characteristics of dementia-friendly hospitals: an integrative review

Christina Manietta et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Background/objectives: Dementia-friendly initiatives are becoming common in society, politics, and research, including health care. Regarding efforts to improve care for patients with dementia in hospitals, the term dementia-friendly hospital is being used increasingly. However, a theoretical understanding of this term and the underlying concept are missing. This integrative review aims to identify current descriptions of dementia-friendly hospitals and to analyze their characteristics.

Methods: An integrative review was conducted. The databases MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycInfo, Cochrane Library, and additional resources were searched. Two reviewers independently screened publications for inclusion. We extracted data from the included publications and analyzed the descriptions of dementia-friendly hospitals using inductive content analysis in an iterative process.

Results: We identified 4191 records and included 34 publications on 17 descriptions of dementia-friendly hospitals. These were found in the context of practice projects (n = 8), recommendations (n = 6) and research (n = 3). Our analysis resulted in six characteristics of dementia-friendly hospitals. Characteristics related to the patients and their care are continuity, person-centeredness, consideration of phenomena within dementia and environment. Additional characteristics are valuing relatives and knowledge and expertise within the hospital.

Conclusion: Dementia-friendly hospitals are currently characterized more by healthcare practices and professional dementia experts than by the results of empirical studies. Additionally, the perspective of people with dementia is underrepresented in current descriptions. Accordingly, further research is needed that involves people with dementia in order to develop a theoretical understanding and suitable concepts of dementia-friendly hospitals, since their perspective is essential.

Keywords: Acute care; Cognitive impairment; Dementia; Dementia-sensitive; Hospital.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA 2020 flow diagram [63]
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Overview of DFH characteristics
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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