Interventions to support young carers/supporters of people living with dementia: a mixed methods systematic review

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Child Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Children globally serve as young carers for individuals with dementia.
• Evidence indicates a significant need for enhanced support systems for these young carers.
• Limited research exists on best practices for dementia-care interventions specifically designed for children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively summarize existing literature on child-focused dementia-care interventions.
• To synthesize studies evaluating interventions aimed at supporting children with dementia care responsibilities.
• To identify effective components of interventions for young carers of people with dementia.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods systematic review employing a convergent integrated synthesis approach.
• Systematic searches of four databases were conducted from January 2013 to February 2024.
• Included studies were qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods, evaluating interventions to improve children's understanding and/or support for people with dementia.

Main Results:

• Seventeen studies, covering 15 distinct interventions and 1,345 participants, were included.
• Inductive synthesis of extracted data yielded 18 categories.
• Six integrated findings emerged regarding the utility of interventions in aiding children's understanding and support for individuals with dementia.

Conclusions:

• Findings can guide the development of future interventions for children with dementia care responsibilities.
• The study highlights the need for further robust research in this area.
• Effective interventions should focus on improving children's comprehension and support capacity for dementia care.