Person-centredness in dementia care: an integrative review of theoretical approaches

Abstract

ObjectivesThis review identifies and examines theoretical approaches (components and objectives) to person-centred dementia care in order to obtain a better understanding of what is meant by the concept of person-centred dementia care.DesignFollowing the approach of Whittemore and Knafl, an integrative literature review was conducted to answer the following questions: (1) Which theoretical approaches to person-centred dementia care have been published? (2) What are the components of the theoretical approaches to person-centred dementia care thus identified, and which objectives can be identified?Data sourcesMEDLINE (via PubMed), CINAHL (via EBSCO) and PsycINFO (via EBSCO) were searched through to 26 April 2021.Eligibility criteriaWe included any kind of published literature that describes theoretical approaches to person-centred dementia care and that was written in German or English.Data extraction and synthesisTwo independent reviewers extracted data. Data were pooled using a data extraction form developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute. A qualitative content analysis was conducted.ResultsThe analysis revealed heterogeneous perspectives within the identified approaches to person-centred dementia care. Statements pertaining to the components and objectives could be assigned to three different subcategories (microlevel, macrolevel and application level). This analysis enabled an enhanced understanding of how person-centred dementia care is currently described and whether and how the theoretical approaches differ in terms of their orientations and their focus on the individual and/or on sociality, which allows conclusions regarding the underlying conceptual idea of personhood.ConclusionsThere is a clear challenge for future research to overcome the dominance of the focus on the individual and to consider aspects of sociality to be at least equally important. This is needed in order to understand dementia as a multifaceted phenomenon that demands a differentiated consideration of theoretical notions of how to understand personhood in this context.