eHealth Interventions for Dementia in Ethnic Minority Groups: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Health Informatics
• Cultural Psychiatry

Background:

• Dementia care involves a triad: individuals with dementia, informal carers, and healthcare professionals.
• Ethnic minority groups face unique challenges in accessing and utilizing dementia care resources.
• eHealth interventions offer potential solutions but require cultural adaptation for diverse populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of eHealth interventions for the dementia care triad.
• To identify interventions culturally adapted for ethnic minority groups.
• To explore intervention characteristics, outcomes, and research gaps.

Main Methods:

• Scoping review following PRISMA-ScR guidelines.
• Searches in major databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, Embase, Google).
• Inclusion criteria: English/Dutch, published post-2007; thematic analysis of findings.

Main Results:

• Increasing publications since 2015, predominantly from the US.
• Mixed-methods studies often utilized videophone technologies.
• Interventions were primarily home-based, caregiver-oriented, targeting Chinese American/Canadian groups, with limited inclusion of people with dementia.

Conclusions:

• Existing eHealth interventions show feasibility and acceptability, impacting mental health outcomes like depression and caregiver burden.
• Significant gaps exist in geographical diversity, linguistic accessibility, and the inclusion of people with dementia.
• Future research must prioritize culturally adapted, multilingual, and inclusive eHealth strategies for equitable dementia care.