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. 2024 Nov;43(11):1772-1784.
doi: 10.1177/07334648241255534. Epub 2024 Jul 20.

Family Involvement in the Care of Nursing Home Residents With Dementia: A Scoping Review

Andrea Wei  1 , Jessica Bell  1 , Jenna Locke  1 , Ashley Roach  2 , Anita Rogers  3 , Evan Plys  4   5 , Dalit Zaguri-Greener  6   7   8 , Anna Zisberg  6   7 , Ruth P Lopez  4   6   7
Affiliations

Family Involvement in the Care of Nursing Home Residents With Dementia: A Scoping Review

Andrea Wei et al. J Appl Gerontol. 2024 Nov.

Abstract

Family members are involved in the lives of older adults with dementia in complex ways. This scoping review synthesizes existing research on family involvement in the care of nursing home residents with advanced dementia. Using the Arksey and O'Malley scoping review framework, electronic searches of PubMed, EBSCO's CINAHL Complete, and APA PsychInfo on the Ovid platform were conducted. Twenty-eight studies met inclusion criteria. Emergent themes and definitions of involvement were obtained through thematic analysis, including: (1) contact (through visitation, calling, or writing letters); (2) engagement in care activities (instrumental/activities of daily living); (3) planning and monitoring care (being aware of health and treatment changes, partnership with care staff, ensuring adequate care, and decision-making); and (4) supporting the resident (advocacy, socioemotional support, and financial support). Moreover, limited psychometrically sound instruments exist to measure family involvement. These limitations stall the progression of research targeting family involvement.

Keywords: dementia; family caregiving; family involvement; nursing home residents.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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