Mapping post-diagnostic support in dementia: a scoping review of care models, structures, and approaches.

OBJECTIVES

To identify and characterize the structures, models, and approaches used to provide Post-Diagnostic Support (PDS) to people living with dementia and their care partners, and to examine how clinical, psychosocial, community, coordination, and system-level components are organized across healthcare and community contexts.

METHODS

A scoping review was conducted following PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Searches were conducted in Web of Science and Scopus on April 9, 2026, and expanded on August 21, 2026, to Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed/MEDLINE, and PsycINFO. Twenty-six articles were included.

RESULTS

The literature was organized into five analytical domains: systemic organization, thematic and well-being support, community care, clinical complexity, and intervention characteristics. Coordination and navigation emerged as cross-cutting mechanisms linking these domains. Findings also highlighted stepped and personalized support, with intensity adapted to changing clinical and psychosocial needs.

CONCLUSION

PDS can be conceptualized as a multidimensional, longitudinal care pathway rather than a discrete intervention following diagnosis. Its organization involves interconnected systemic, community, clinical, well-being, and intervention components, with coordination and navigation supporting continuity across levels of care and changing needs of the person-caregiver dyad.