Dementia Simulation for Family Caregivers of Persons With Dementia: A Scoping Review

Background: Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias are becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide. Persons with dementia receive substantial assistance from family caregivers over extended periods of time. Family caregivers of persons with dementia are twice as likely to report physical, emotional, and financial challenges related to caregiving compared with other types of family caregivers. Empathy has been demonstrated to improve caregivers’ quality of life and their relationships with care recipients. Objective: This scoping review examines the current literature on the effects of dementia simulation on empathy levels in family caregivers of persons with dementia. Methods: A librarian-assisted search of 4 databases—PubMed, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), PsycINFO, and Scopus—was conducted. Key terms included “dementia,” “family caregivers,” and “simulation.” To broaden reference retrieval, “empathy” was not used as a key term but remained an inclusion criterion during reference screening. Data extraction of relevant references was completed. Results: The search yielded 212 citations. Seven eligible dementia simulation studies were identified, including 1 randomized controlled trial, 3 quasi-experimental studies, and 3 qualitative research studies. Only 3 of the 7 studies focused specifically on family caregivers of persons with dementia. Conclusions: Qualitative data supported increased empathy in family caregivers, but quantitative findings on changes in empathy levels were inconclusive. Further research using quantitative or mixed-methods designs is necessary to support benefits of simulation on empathy for family caregivers of persons with dementia.