Year: 2026
Type: article
Study designs: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis
Abstract: Dementia is a prevalent diagnosis, with individuals and their families affected by disease challenges including dementia-related stigma. Dementia-related stigma may lead to isolation, infantilization, discrimination, and a poorer quality of life. Stigma-reduction interventions have been implemented to combat these harms. This meta-analytic review examined seven dementia-related stigma reduction studies, totaling 13 interventions and 26 effect sizes. Overall, treatment groups had nonsignificant reductions in stigmatizing views ( g = −.24) and improved quality of life ( g = .20). Quality of life was a significant predictor of stigma reduction ( β = −1.0732, P = .004), even though a nonsignificant correlation between quality of life and stigma was found ( r = −.49, P = .09). This meta-analytic review highlights the difficult-to-change nature of dementia-related stigma, as well as the dearth of consensus among the field when it comes to intervention methods and measurement protocols for nuanced phenomena like stigma or quality of life.
Authors: Shannon Pappas, Lily G. Gorman
Institution: University of Connecticut
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7166018347