Person-centered dementia care remains inconsistently defined across global contexts, with current frameworks biased toward high-income, Western perspectives. An international survey of 39 Alzheimer's associations reveals significant gaps between idealized care principles and implementation across diverse healthcare systems and cultural settings.
Key Points
- Person-centered care definitions vary significantly by region and income level
- Western frameworks dominate dementia care literature despite global implementation
- Implementation barriers differ substantially across healthcare systems
Longevity Analysis
Dementia represents a critical failure mode in cognitive and neurological function during aging. The absence of a unified, culturally-informed definition of person-centered care means interventions to slow cognitive decline, preserve autonomy, and maintain quality of life are fragmented and often misaligned with the actual needs and values of the populations most affected. Effective dementia prevention and care requires understanding how regional healthcare infrastructure, cultural attitudes toward aging, and resource availability shape what actually works—not imposing assumptions from well-resourced settings onto contexts where they may prove ineffective or inappropriate.
Original published by SAGE Research on Aging, by Sam Fazio, Walter Moczygemba, Lauren Stratton, Katie Evans, Wendy Weidner, Sube Banerjee, Sheryl Zimmerman144027Alzheimer’s Association, Chicago, IL, USA251761Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research and School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA3594787Alzheimer’s Disease International, London, UK46123University of Nottingham, UK.