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Intergenerational interactions between people with dementia and children up to the age of five in care homes—what are the outcomes and how are they measured?: A systematic review
Author(s) -
Sakure Jelena,
Livingston Gill,
Beeke Suzanne
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1002/alz.040501
Subject(s) - cinahl , dementia , scopus , cochrane library , inclusion (mineral) , psychology , medline , gerontology , developmental psychology , medicine , meta analysis , psychological intervention , psychiatry , social psychology , disease , pathology , political science , law
Background Intergenerational projects in care homes are often run for people with dementia and children of pre‐school and Reception age. These projects are thought to be beneficial for people with dementia and the children involved. We systematically review existing research on the different models of such projects and the effect of these on communication. Method We searched six electronic databases (Medline, PsychINFO, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, CENTRAL (Cochrane Library)). We searched from inception to present and did not limit the language. Two researchers decided independently on whether references fitted inclusion criteria. We included qualitative and quantitative studies of intergenerational programmes for children not older than 5 years and people with dementia in care homes. Our search terms were adapted for each source and included subject headings and keywords for dementia, children/intergenerational activities and long‐term care settings. We involved a steering group of stakeholders in the discussion of included studies and the synthesis of extracted data. Results We report on the impact of intergenerational activities on people with dementia and children, highlighting the domains of verbal and non‐verbal communication. We document the links of these outcomes with the settings, programme types and facilitation contexts in which they occur. We also discuss reported methods for measuring outcomes of intergenerational activities. Conclusion We present the existing evidence and give a new interaction and communication‐focused perspective on long term care‐based intergenerational programmes for people with dementia and children up to the age of five. We make recommendations about further research.