Nonpharmacological interventions in dementia and diversity of samples: A scoping review

A public health priority is the increasing number of people with dementia (PwD), and nonpharmacological interventions (NPIs) might offer support. We sought to synthesize types of NPIs tested among PwD and explore sample characteristics.

This study was a scoping literature review. Eligible articles were identified using the search terms "nonpharmacological intervention" and "dementia".

36 articles were included. Psychosocial NPIs were implemented the most (n=24) and music-based interventions were found to be the most effective. Gender, race, and ethnicity were not consistently reported (n=30, n=24, and n=6, respectively). White PwD had higher representation, with only 62.5% of studies including Black participants and 25% including Hispanic/Latino participants. Women made up a majority (>50%) of the sample in a greater number of studies (n=20).

Findings suggest that future studies need to be intentional about improving diversity of the sample, particularly with respect to including persons identifying as Black or Hispanic/Latino.