SynthesisBMC health services research2016
What is the effectiveness of the support worker role for people with dementia and their carers? A systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC health services research, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 59 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Understanding the training and education needs of homecare workers supporting people with dementia and cancer: A systematic review of reviews.Dementia (London, England) · 2020Pooled it
- What is the role of the practice nurse in the care of people living with dementia, or cognitive impairment, and their support person(s)?: a systematic review.BMC family practice · 2020Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Home-Setting Psychoeducation Interventions for Behavioral Changes in Dementia: Some Lessons for the COVID-19 Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Assistance.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- Developing the New Interventions for independence in Dementia Study (NIDUS) theoretical model for supporting people to live well with dementia at home for longer: a systematic review of theoretical models and Randomised Controlled Trial evidence.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2020Pooled it
- Exploring a Facilitator-Enabled Flexible iSupport for Dementia Program: An Internal Pilot Mixed-Methods Study.Nursing open · 2026Trial
- Nursing Interventions to Reduce the Burden of Informal Caregivers of People With Chronic Illness: A Narrative Review.Cureus · 2026Review
- Determinants of the implementation, integration, and sustainability of new non-professionally affiliated psychosocial support roles: a scoping review.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Access to communication support for community-dwelling people with dementia: A mixed methods study exploring local perspectives within the United Kingdom context.Age and ageing · 2025Article
- Implementing and sustaining dementia care coordinators across integrated care systems: a realist evaluation.BMC medicine · 2024Article
- Support workers knowledge, skills and education relating to dementia - a national survey.NIHR open research · 2024Article
- Exploring the role of a facilitator in supporting family carers when embedding the iSupport for Dementia programme in care services: A qualitative study.Journal of clinical nursing · 2023Article
- Creating 'Partnership in iSupport program' to optimise family carers' impact on dementia care: a randomised controlled trial protocol.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- A personalized dementia care intervention for family carers from minority ethnic groups in Denmark: A pilot study.Dementia (London, England) · 2022Article
- Satisfaction with Health Care Interventions among Community Dwelling People with Cognitive Disorders and Their Informal Caregivers-A Systematic Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Review
- Development of an optimised key worker framework for people with dementia, their family and caring unit living in the community.BMC health services research · 2017Article
- Development of an adaptive, personalized, and scalable dementia care program: Early findings from the Care Ecosystem.PLoS medicine · 2017Article
- Article
- Evaluating the Efficacy of the "Support for Life" Program for People with Dementia and Their Families and Carers' to Enable Them to Live Well: A Protocol for a Cluster Stepped Wedge Randomized Controlled Trial.Frontiers in public health · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDementia is progressive in nature and the associated functional decline inevitably leads to increasing dependence on others in areas of daily living. Models of support have been developed and implemented to assist with adjusting to living with memory loss and functional decline; to navigate the health and aged care system; and to access services. We undertook a systematic review of international literature on key worker type support roles to identify essential components and ascertain how the role can be best utilised to assist community-dwelling people with dementia and their carers. This review of support roles is the first to our knowledge to include both quantitative and qualitative studies and all models of support.
methodA systematic review of studies written in English and published between January 2003 and December 2014. Data sources were Medline, PsychInfo and CINAHL, internet, expert consultation and reference lists of included studies. After screening articles to ensure that they reported on a key worker type support role, involved carers and or people with dementia living at home and removing duplicates, eligible papers were appraised and evaluated.
resultsThirty six studies were eligible for inclusion in the review. Eligible studies were divided into type of support roles and study type. The heterogeneity of included studies and high risk of bias made a meta-analysis inappropriate and it was therefore difficult to draw overall conclusions. However, essential components shared across support worker models that demonstrated a positive impact on carer burden and improved quality of life included: long term intervention, face to face contact, individualised education and support based on needs, multi-disciplinary teams, collaborative input, health/clinical background of support workers, ongoing follow up and inter professional and inter-sectoral collaborations. There was a lack of studies assessing cost-effectiveness.
conclusionsStudies that include a high quality evaluation of holistic, tailored models of support that identify which components of support produce the most valuable outcomes to assist people with dementia and their carers and families to continue to live meaningful lives are needed. There is also a need for a cost effectiveness evaluation of support worker roles.
trial registrationPROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews: PROSPERO 2014 CRD42014013992 .
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.