Dementia Care Pathways: A Comprehensive Scoping Review and Insights from Key Informant Interviews

Background: Globally, with more than 55 million people affected by dementia and 10 million new cases yearly, dementia contributes to dependency among older people and has a global cost of 1.3 trillion USD in 2019. Affecting high rates of individuals worldwide, dementia causing medical-social complexity and economic burden is an ideal candidate for person-centred care pathways. To date, dementia care pathways have been developed as tools helping professionals to identify the most appropriate care pathway for a patient’s specific symptoms; however, we lack a comprehensive systematic review of current dementia care pathways and potential barriers and facilitators to their development and implementation. Objective: This study aims to map existing dementia care pathways to their purpose, components, user type, and expected outcomes and implications for persons with dementia and their caregivers. It also aims to gain a multi-perspective stakeholder view of the barriers and facilitators to developing and implementing integrated dementia care pathways. Methods: We will conduct a scoping review guided by the methods developed by Arskey and O’Malley. A comprehensive search strategy will be developed in consultation with an Information Specialist to search in peer-reviewed and grey literature databases. We will also conduct semi-structured interviews with 10 to 15 critical informants experienced in dementia care pathways, including their perceived strengths, limitations, development, and implementation considerations. We will use content analysis of informant interviews based on the mapped dementia care pathway evidence. Implications: Our study will provide an overview of existing dementia care pathways and the extent to which they include the views and experiences of diverse patients and families affected by dementia. It will also offer insights from key informants who can speak to the role and impact of these pathways. This study's findings could help inform the creation of person-centred dementia care pathways.