Review

. 2025 Aug 3:11:20552076251362353.

doi: 10.1177/20552076251362353. eCollection 2025 Jan-Dec.

Digital assistive technologies for community-dwelling people with dementia: A systematic review of systematic reviews by the INTERDEM AI & assistive technology taskforce

David Neal¹, Michael P Craven^{2

3}, Jane Cross⁴, Shirley Evans⁵, Christopher Fox^{6

7

8}, Laila Oksnebjerg⁹, Isabel Alexandre^{10

11}, Aidin Aryankhesal⁴, Arlene Astell¹², Ahmet Begde¹³, Annabel Ditton⁸, Thomas Engelsma^{14

15

16}, Rikke Gregersen¹⁷, Pascale Heins¹⁸, Eef Hogervorst¹⁹, Aysegul Humeyra Kafadar²⁰, Jackie Poos²¹, Louise Robinson²², Duygu Sezgin²³, Hanneke Ja Smaling^{24

25}, Dorota Szczesniak²⁶, Josephine Rose Orejana Tan²⁷, Marjolein de Vugt²⁸, Franka Jm Meiland^{29

30}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Informatics, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
² NIHR MindTech HealthTech Research Centre & Centre for Dementia, Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham Innovation Park, Nottingham UK.
³ Human Factors Research Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
⁴ School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
⁵ The Association for Dementia Studies, University of Worcester, Worcester UK.
⁶ NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Sustainable Innovation, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
⁷ NIHR HealthTech Research Centre National Coordinating Centre, University of Sheffield, Sheffield UK.
⁸ School of Health and Community Sciences, Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
⁹ Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
¹⁰ Department of Information Science and Technology, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Lisboa, Portugal.
¹¹ Instituto de Telecomunicações, Lisboa, Portugal.
¹² Psychology Department, Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
¹³ Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹⁴ eHealth Living & Learning Lab Amsterdam, Department of Medical Informatics, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
¹⁵ Amsterdam Public Health, Digital Health, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
¹⁶ Amsterdam Public Health, Aging & Later Life, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
¹⁷ Research Centre for Activity and Prevention, VIA University College, Aarhus N, Denmark.
¹⁸ Alzheimer Centrum Limburg, Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
¹⁹ School of Sports Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Epinal Way, Loughborough, UK.
²⁰ Academic Unit of Mental Health and Clinical Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
²¹ Alzheimercenter Erasmus MC, Department of Neurology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
²² Population Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
²³ School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland.
²⁴ Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
²⁵ University Network of the Care Sector Zuid-Holland, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
²⁶ Department of Psychiatry, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
²⁷ Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, location Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
²⁸ Alzheimer Centrum Limburg, Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Mental Health and Neurosciences Research Institute, Faculty of Health Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
²⁹ Department of Medicine for Older People, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
³⁰ Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Aging & Later life, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

PMID: 40761778
PMCID: PMC12319280
DOI: 10.1177/20552076251362353

Review

Digital assistive technologies for community-dwelling people with dementia: A systematic review of systematic reviews by the INTERDEM AI & assistive technology taskforce

David Neal et al. Digit Health. 2025.

. 2025 Aug 3:11:20552076251362353.

doi: 10.1177/20552076251362353. eCollection 2025 Jan-Dec.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Informatics, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
² NIHR MindTech HealthTech Research Centre & Centre for Dementia, Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham Innovation Park, Nottingham UK.
³ Human Factors Research Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
⁴ School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
⁵ The Association for Dementia Studies, University of Worcester, Worcester UK.
⁶ NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Sustainable Innovation, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
⁷ NIHR HealthTech Research Centre National Coordinating Centre, University of Sheffield, Sheffield UK.
⁸ School of Health and Community Sciences, Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
⁹ Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
¹⁰ Department of Information Science and Technology, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Lisboa, Portugal.
¹¹ Instituto de Telecomunicações, Lisboa, Portugal.
¹² Psychology Department, Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
¹³ Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹⁴ eHealth Living & Learning Lab Amsterdam, Department of Medical Informatics, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
¹⁵ Amsterdam Public Health, Digital Health, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
¹⁶ Amsterdam Public Health, Aging & Later Life, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
¹⁷ Research Centre for Activity and Prevention, VIA University College, Aarhus N, Denmark.
¹⁸ Alzheimer Centrum Limburg, Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
¹⁹ School of Sports Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Epinal Way, Loughborough, UK.
²⁰ Academic Unit of Mental Health and Clinical Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
²¹ Alzheimercenter Erasmus MC, Department of Neurology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
²² Population Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
²³ School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland.
²⁴ Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
²⁵ University Network of the Care Sector Zuid-Holland, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
²⁶ Department of Psychiatry, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
²⁷ Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, location Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
²⁸ Alzheimer Centrum Limburg, Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Mental Health and Neurosciences Research Institute, Faculty of Health Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
²⁹ Department of Medicine for Older People, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
³⁰ Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Aging & Later life, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

PMID: 40761778
PMCID: PMC12319280
DOI: 10.1177/20552076251362353

Abstract

Introduction: The use of digital assistive technologies by and for people living with dementia is promising for supporting social health and advocated as a partial solution to growing prevalence worldwide. A state-of-the-art position paper published in 2017 identified challenges regarding digital assistive technologies, around five themes: development, usability, (cost-)effectiveness, implementation and ethics. This systematic review summarizes progress on the challenges found in 2017, and persisting or emerging challenges.

Methods: A systematic review of systematic reviews was conducted, focused on studies published after 2016. The inclusion criteria required that the target group included, at least in part, people with dementia living in the community and that the technologies aimed to support social health. For the five themes, literature searches were conducted in Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Embase databases.

Results: A total of 112 reviews were included, covering various applications such as smart homes, care robots, exergaming and everyday technologies. No applications of artificial intelligence were included. The challenges included personalization of applications (development); limited use of standardized methods (usability); insufficient quantity and quality of randomized controlled trials (cost-effectiveness); overly high expectations of assistive technologies (implementation); and the need for more equitable access to technologies (ethics).

Conclusion: Much research has been conducted since the 2017 state of the art position paper. While some challenges identified at that time remain relevant, others have been addressed, and new challenges have emerged. Future research should prioritize emerging artificial intelligence applications; the development of integrated assistive technologies; evaluation using robust methods and meaningful outcomes; and the promotion of more accessible and inclusive technologies.

Keywords: Dementia; artificial intelligence; assistive technology; cost-effectiveness; development; digital health; ethics; implementation; systematic review; usability.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

**Figure 1.**
PRISMA flow diagram for the Development theme search and screening process.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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1. Nandi A, Counts N, Bröker J, et al. Cost of care for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in the United States: 2016 to 2060. NPJ Aging 2024; 10: 13. - PMC - PubMed
1. 2023 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. Alzheimers Dement 2023; 19: 1598–1695. - PubMed
1. Nguyen HV, Mital S, Knopman DS, et al. Cost-effectiveness of lecanemab for individuals with early-stage Alzheimer disease. Neurology 2024; 102: e209218. - PubMed
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Digital assistive technologies for community-dwelling people with dementia: A systematic review of systematic reviews by the INTERDEM AI & assistive technology taskforce

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Digital assistive technologies for community-dwelling people with dementia: A systematic review of systematic reviews by the INTERDEM AI & assistive technology taskforce

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