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Dementia care in eight European countries: developing a mapping system to explore systems
Ingalill R Hallberg1, Helena Leino-Kilpi, Gabriele Meyer
1Omega, Senior Professor in Health Care Science, Lund University, Sweden.
Summary
A new mapping system helps understand dementia care services across eight European countries, highlighting comprehensive home care but less support for informal caregivers. Further development is needed for utilization data.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Healthcare Systems Analysis
- Nursing Research
Background:
- A significant knowledge gap exists regarding the structure of care and service systems for individuals with dementia.
- Nurses, as primary dementia care providers, require a clearer understanding of available resources.
- This study addresses the need for a systematic approach to mapping dementia care services.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and describe a mapping system for exploring the content of care and services for persons with dementia and their informal caregivers.
- To assess the utility of this mapping system across different stages of the dementia disease trajectory.
- To provide a framework for understanding dementia care systems in a cross-country context.
Main Methods:
- A descriptive, cross-country design was employed across eight diverse European nations.
- A modified consensus strategy was utilized to develop the mapping system and define terminology.
- Country-specific information was gathered by national research groups, involving expert consultation.
Main Results:
- The consensus strategy successfully defined approximately 50 types of care and service activities, categorized into treatment, outpatient, home, institutional, palliative, informal, and civic domains.
- Home care encompassed the widest range of activities, while palliative care and informal caregiver support showed the narrowest scope.
- The consensus procedure was effective for content and definitions, but assessing care availability and utilization proved challenging.
Conclusions:
- Dementia care systems are generally comprehensive, with a strong emphasis on home-based care.
- Activities focused on knowledge transfer to informal caregivers, crucial for home care, appear less developed.
- The mapping system is valuable for nurse managers, researchers, and policymakers to review, evaluate, and compare dementia care pathways nationally and internationally.
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