The experiences and perceptions of personhood for people living with dementia: A qualitative evidence synthesis protocol

Background: Personhood in dementia is concerned with treating people living with dementia with dignity and respect, in a manner that supports their sense of self. It focuses on treating the person living with dementia as a person first and foremost. Supporting personhood in dementia is the key goal of person-centred care. Existing qualitative research examines what personhood means to the person living with dementia and explores what is important to their personhood and sense of self. However, to date little work has focused on synthesising these studies. Methods: This is a protocol for a qualitative evidence synthesis of personhood in dementia. The review examines qualitative peer-reviewed research of the perspectives and experiences of personhood for people living with dementia. A systematic search will be carried out on eight electronic databases and supplemented by other purposeful literature search methods. Title and abstract screening, and full text screening will be carried out by two authors independently. Included studies will be critically appraised. Thematic synthesis will be conducted on all of the included studies. Confidence in the review findings will be assessed using GRADE CERQual. Discussion: The findings from this synthesis will be useful to health care providers and policy makers seeking to understand what personhood means for people living with dementia. The findings will also inform optimal service provision, as well as outcome measures in dementia. PROSPERO registration: CRD42017076114 (21/11/2017).