A Scoping Review of the Effect and Experience of Participating in Dementia Rehabilitation When Living With Early Stage Dementia: Seen From a Lifelong Learning Perspective

BACKGROUND: Rehabilitation services are important to improve the health and quality of life of those living with dementia but remain an under-researched area, regarding a lifelong learning perspective. The purpose of this scoping review was to map the characteristics, effects, and experiences of rehabilitation services for early stage dementia that draw upon cognitive stimulation, cognitive stimulation therapy, cognitive training, cognitive rehabilitation, and/or neuropedagogical approaches. Thus, to identify if any addressed a lifelong learning perspective. METHODS: The literature search included the period 2003 to 2022 curated from the following databases: PubMed, CINAHL Complete, Cochrane Library, Medline, ERIC, PsycINFO, and Education Research Complete. We uploaded 204 references to Covidence, 15 of which were eligible. RESULTS: Eligible studies used many study designs with different sample sizes. The length of the interventions ranged from weeks and months to no defined periods, with a frequency of 1 to 3 times a week. The studies used various measurement tools. The services were inspired by cognitive stimulation therapy (n = 5), cognitive training (n = 2), cognitive rehabilitation (n = 4), or multiple approaches (n = 4). Most studies examined the effectiveness of the services, with only a few exploring their experience of them. There is a great variation in available services, with some showing promising but no longer-term effects. CONCLUSIONS: This review documents the importance of developing dementia rehabilitation services that focus on long-term effects and lifelong learning to ensure more efficient and relevant services in the future.