Evaluating Dementia Interventions, Areas of Improvement: XinQi Dong, MD, MPH

"Another focus is on the outcomes that are most important for a person living with dementia and their caregivers. Understanding issues relating to intended and unintended benefits and harm. Every intervention has a lot of intended benefits they hope to measure, but sometimes those unintended benefits can occur and cause harm.”

A committee of expert dementia care specialists recently convened to publish a report on the challenges of caring for persons with dementia and their care partners and caregivers. They assessed the state of evidence for dementia interventions and provided thoughts on interventions ready for implementation in real-world settings.

XinQi Dong, MD, MPH, director of the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research at Rutgers University, was among those involved with the report. He and his colleagues provided principles that can guide ideal care, services, and supports for persons living with dementia and their caregivers. Among them included person-centeredness, justice, promotion of well-being, respect and dignity, accessibility and affordability, and racial, ethnic, sexual, cultural, and linguistic inclusivity.

In an interview with NeurologyLive, Dong discussed the report in full, including what the top-level conclusions the data draw. He also detailed each of the recommendations that he and his colleagues laid out and why they are necessary to improve dementia interventions.