The psychological and social impacts of museum-based programmes for people with a mild-to-moderate dementia: a systematic review

Abstract

The importance of museum-based interventions for people with demen­tia has been increasingly appreciated. Yet, there is relatively little known about the psychological and social impacts of these interventions. To address this, the authors undertook a systematic review to elucidate these aspects of museum-based programmes for people with mild-to-moder­ate dementia. Four electronic databases were searched systematically, and eleven studies were included. Key findings were synthesised thematically, and six themes were identified: mood and enjoyment, subjective wellbe­ing, personhood, cognition, engagement, and social outcomes. These pos­itive findings suggest that museum-based interventions for people with a mild-to-moderate dementia can offer a range of valuable benefits. This review also clarified that further mixed-methods studies and wait-list controlled studies, to clarify the factors that benefits may be attributed to, will contribute towards a more robust evidence base. In turn, this would positively impact funding and guide policy in this area.