Digital information materials on dementia-an exploratory content analysis

Abstract

Adiagnosis of dementia places aheavy burden on those affected and their families. Often, difficult decisions must be made. Ideally, people with anew dementia diagnosis make informed decisions together with family members. Digital informational materials can be an important low-threshold resource for making informed decisions. They should provide comprehensive information about dementia, including both primary prevention (risk factors for the onset of dementia) and later treatment options. They should also cover precautionary measures that can make future decisions easier (e.g., advance directives, power of attorney). However, there is currently no comprehensive overview of the various online resources for dementia-related information. This study explores digital informational materials on dementia for different target groups in the German-speaking area using an innovative systematic search strategy. It examines how these materials are structured in terms of risk factors, treatment options, and decision support. This methodological approach is new, so it is described and discussed in detail. The results show that most materials are intended for people with dementia and their families. Treatment measures are often discussed without explaining the risk factors they are meant to address. There is little focus on preventive measures that could support decision-making. The unbalanced presentation could lead to certain measures being difficult to understand (for laypeople) or to misinterpretation of risk factors. Important implications are drawn from these findings.