SynthesisBMC geriatrics2020
Negative stereotypes, fear and social distance: a systematic review of depictions of dementia in popular culture in the context of stigma.
Synthesis in BMC geriatrics, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 75 papers, 9 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
75 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 205 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Experience of Stigma Within the Young Onset Dementia (YOD) Population: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Research.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Pooled it
- MEET & MAKE CleaR PROCESS: a new framework for sharing serious information.BMC medical education · 2026Pooled it
- Dementia worry and depressive symptoms: a systematic review.Aging & mental health · 2026Pooled it
- Barriers for access and utilization of dementia care services in Europe: a systematic review.BMC geriatrics · 2025Pooled it
- Exploring the stigma experienced by people affected by Parkinson's disease: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Dementia-related stigma in physicians: a scoping review of stigma-reduction interventions.Frontiers in dementia · 2025Pooled it
- The needs and unmet needs for people living with dementia, caregivers and care workers in dementia health care systems: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Barriers and facilitators to implementing person-centred dementia care in long-term care facilities in Western and Asian countries: a scoping review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Verbal and Nonverbal Expressions of Persons Living With Dementia as Indicators of Person-Centered Caregiving.The Gerontologist · 2022Pooled it
- Reducing fear and avoidance of memory loss improves mood and social engagement in community-based older adults: a randomized trial.BMC geriatrics · 2023Trial
- The right to be heard: exploring epistemic injustice in dementia care-A qualitative study.The Gerontologist · 2026Article
- A world view: Considerations of sociocultural diversity in the study of subjective cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Review
- Public acceptance and expectations for Lecanemab: Insights from a Smallest Worthwhile Difference study.Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2026Article
- A Road Trip About Late-Life, Love and Loss.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2026Article
- Disintegrating ipseity: a gerontological exegesis of Alzheimer's disease and relational identity in Alice Munro's fiction.Philosophy, ethics, and humanities in medicine : PEHM · 2026Article
- The Roles of Empathy, Proximity, and Identity in Alzheimer's Disease Stigma.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Relational Autonomy, Dementia, and AI-Based Care Robots: Ethical Aspects of Using Machines to Care for People with Dementia.Asian bioethics review · 2026Article
- Measuring dementia-related stigma in the Dutch general public: Translation and validation of the dementia public stigma scale.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2026Article
- Exploring the use of a dementia game for raising public awareness in Singapore: a descriptive qualitative study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Biases in an artificial intelligence image-generator's depictions of healthy aging and Alzheimer's.Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA · 2026Article
15 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLiterature, film and news media reflect and shape social perceptions of dementia which in turn impact on dementia stigma. The aim of this paper is to systematically review papers on the depiction and frames for dementia in literature, film, mass media and social media in order to better understand cultural stigma related to dementia.
methodsA systematic search of electronic databases was undertaken combining phrases relating to dementia, popular culture and representations, and phrases relating to dementia and stigma. We searched for scientific English language papers which included original analysis on the representation or depiction of dementia in popular culture (i.e. in film and television, literature, news, social media and language). Articles published between 1989-2018 were included. The search was conducted in December 2017 and updated in January 2019. Inductive thematic synthesis was undertaken.
resultsA total of 60 articles were included from an initial sample of 37022. Dementia was almost always depicted in conjunction with ageing, and often equated with Alzheimer's disease. Common frames for dementia were biomedical - dementia involves the deterioration of the brain for which there is no current cure; natural disaster or epidemic - dementia is a force of nature which will overwhelm mankind; and living dead - people with dementia lose their brains, memories, minds and consequently their personhood and human rights. There were examples of more positive depictions of dementia including expressing love and individual agency and experiencing personal growth. Feelings commonly associated with dementia were fear, shame, compassion and guilt, and depictions often resulted in a sense of social distance.
conclusionsDepictions of dementia in popular culture are associated with negative images and feelings, and social distance between people with dementia and those without. These correspond to dementia stigma in the public and as experienced by people with dementia. Further research is needed into the impact of literature, news and social media on dementia stigma and these cultural mediums might be used to reduce stigma.
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.