Interventions to support young carers/supporters of people living with dementia: a mixed methods systematic review

Purpose: Despite children being young carers for people living with dementia globally, and evidence suggesting they need more support, there is limited research evaluating best practice for dementia-care related interventions for children. The purpose of this work was therefore to comprehensively summarise the existing literature by synthesising studies appraising existing child-focused and dementia-care relevant interventions. 

Method: A mixed methods systematic review with a convergent integrated synthesis approach. Four databases were systematically searched from 1st January 2013 to 9th February 2024. Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies evaluating any intervention programme that aimed to improve children’s understanding and/or support for people living with dementia were included. 

Results: Seventeen studies, evaluating 15 different interventions (1,345 participants), were eligible for inclusion. Extracted data were inductively synthesised into 18 categories, forming six integrated findings relating to what makes interventions useful for helping children to understand and/or support people living with dementia. 

Conclusions: The findings can inform the development of interventions for children with dementia care responsibilities, and further robust research.