SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Dement.
Sec. Translational Research in Dementia
Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frdem.2025.1601462
This article is part of the Research TopicDiversity, Intersectionality, and Inclusive Practices in Dementia Care and ResearchView all 3 articles
Dementia-Related Stigma in Physicians: A Scoping Review of Stigma-Reduction Interventions
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Clinical Research and Leadership, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., United States
- 2University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, United States
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Despite advances in diagnosis and treatment, dementia-related stigma among physicians remains a significant barrier to early recognition and effective management of dementia. This scoping review aimed to evaluate the landscape of interventions targeting dementia-related stigma in physicians. Employing Arksey and O'Malley's framework, we evaluated the extant peer-reviewed literature published between 2014 and 2024 that implemented stigma-reduction interventions targeting physicians. Our final analysis included 14 studies. These studies examined educational, skillbuilding, and person-centered interventions, highlighting their importance in addressing stigma, improving clinical confidence, and enhancing care quality. Common intervention formats included brief workshops, online modular training, and interdisciplinary approaches integrating personcentered frameworks and behavioral management tools. Outcomes were measured using validated tools such as the Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS), Dementia Negative Stereotype Scale (DNS) and General Practitioners Confidence and Attitude Scale for Dementia (GPACS-D). Findings underscore the importance of tailored, culturally sensitive, and interdisciplinary strategies to reduce stigma and support care delivery, particularly in low-resource settings. The significant gaps in understanding are explored, along with recommendations for future research. This review aims to contribute a deeper understanding of the barriers and facilitators to implementing dementia care practices, offering a conceptualization for enhanced physician education and improved health outcomes for persons with dementia.
Keywords: stigma, Bias, Dementia, Alzheimer's disease, intervention, physician, healthcare personnel
Received: 27 Mar 2025; Accepted: 09 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Warren and Wynia. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Alison Warren, Department of Clinical Research and Leadership, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., United States
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.