Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39918846›Full record

ArticleJMIR aging2025

Implications of Public Disclosure of Personal Information in a Mobile Alert App for People Living With Dementia Who Go Missing: Qualitative Descriptive Study.

Adebusola Adekoya, Christine Daum, Noelannah Neubauer, Antonio Miguel-Cruz, Lili Liu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR aging, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Adebusola AdekoyaSchool of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-8131-8832
Christine DaumSchool of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-5555-3698
Noelannah NeubauerSchool of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-7040-2943
Antonio Miguel-CruzDepartment of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-1618-8733
Lili LiuSchool of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-7082-4898

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPeople living with dementia are at risk of getting lost and going missing due to memory loss, confusion, and disorientation. Missing person incidents involving people living with dementia are increasing. Alert systems such as Community ASAP can promote community engagement in locating missing persons with dementia and aid in search and rescue efforts. However, the implications of public disclosure of personal information such as name, age, sex, and physical description within such alert systems have yet to be explored.

objectiveThis study aimed to identify and discuss the implications of public disclosure of personal information in Community ASAP for people living with dementia at risk of going missing.

methodsThis study used a qualitative descriptive research design drawing from naturalistic inquiry. A total of 19 participants including people living with dementia, care partners, first responders, and service providers were recruited from Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia, Canada. Semistructured interviews were used to explore participants' perspectives on the perceived implications of the release of personal information when using Community ASAP. NVivo (version 12) was used to manage data, and conventional content analysis was conducted to identify key themes of the implications of public disclosure of personal information in Community ASAP.

resultsIn total, 10/19 (53%) of the participants were women and 9/19 (47%) were men. Of the 19 participants, 3 (16%) were people living with dementia, 5 (26%) were care partners, 4 (21%) were first responders, and 7 (37%) were service providers. In total, 4 key themes were identified as implications of public disclosure of personal information in Community ASAP: right to autonomy, safety versus privacy, informed and knowledgeable consent, and stigmatization. Participants discussed how the public disclosure of personal information in Community ASAP could undermine a person's choice not to be found and contribute to stigmatization. Participants emphasized a need to balance safety and privacy concerns. Informed and knowledgeable consent is important when using an alert system to locate missing persons with dementia.

conclusionsCommunity ASAP can promote community engagement in locating missing persons with dementia. However, the public disclosure of personal information in alert systems has implications. Users' right to autonomy, a balance between safety and privacy, informed and knowledgeable consent, and risks of stigmatization are perceived impacts of disclosure of personal information in alert systems.

Indexed as

DementiaDisclosureMobile ApplicationsAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedQualitative Researchalert systemsautonomyconsentdementiamissing personsprivacystigmatizationtechnology

Identifiers

PMID39918846
PMCPMC11845886

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.