Navigating Everyday as Partners to Persons With Early Dementia: A Scoping Review.

This is a scoping review, so it maps reported experiences and unmet needs; it does not test whether any support service or intervention improves caregiver or patient outcomes. Most included studies were qualitative, and only one was cross-sectional, so the findings are descriptive rather than effect estimates. The review searched only English and Scandinavian-language peer-reviewed articles, so relevant studies in other languages may have been missed. It included only countries with healthcare systems comparable to Denmark, so service gaps may not transfer to other settings. The gendered differences came from one included study, so they should not be treated as a general pattern. Critical appraisal showed several studies could not tell how researcher relationships or ethical issues were handled. The review focused on spousal or partner caregivers and excluded results that could not be separated from other participants, so it may not represent children, other relatives, or healthcare professionals.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Do not read the five themes as proof that dementia caregiver support programmes work. This scoping review mapped what caregivers said they needed, not outcomes achieved by any intervention.