Symptom-specific non-pharmacological interventions for behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia: protocol of an umbrella review of systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials

Abstract

IntroductionThere are various non-pharmacological interventions for dementia care. However, healthcare providers continue to face challenges in determining the most suitable interventions for the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), which vary according to individuals. This umbrella review aims to identify and summarise the effective non-pharmacological interventions for each sub-symptom to provide individualised, evidence-based recommendations for clinical practice. Methods and analysisThis review follows the guideline of the Cochrane methodology for umbrella reviews. It focuses only on systematic reviews (SRs) with or without a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Five electronic databases: PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Embase, PsycINFO and Cochrane Database, will be searched. The screened SRs will be determined for eligibility by the PICO formulation: (Population) older adults with dementia of any type; (Intervention) all types of non-pharmacological intervention; (Comparison) usual care or other non-pharmacological intervention; and (Outcome) BPSD and its sub-symptoms. The quality of the individual SRs will be appraised using A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews 2. The overlap of primary studies will also be considered by eliminating an old-date SR conducted by the same authors with the same interest and calculating the Corrected Covered Area. Data will be extracted according to the pre-determined formula, which will organise non-pharmacological interventions according to the sub-symptoms of BPSD and not according to the type of intervention. Ethics and disseminationSince this is a review paper, ethical approval is not required. The findings of this review will be disseminated through publication in a peer-reviewed journal. PROSPERO registration numberCRD42022340930.