ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Costs of Caring for Older AdultsView all 13 articles
Dementia care from the perspective of family members, caregivers and public health and social care professionals: a qualitative study of the Italian Fund for Alzheimer’s and other dementias
Provisionally accepted
Annachiara Di Nolfi1,2*
Vittorio Palermo1Ilaria Palazzesi1
Serena Passoni3Flaminia Camilli4
Alice Paggetti1Antonio Ancidoni1Elisa Fabrizi1
Patrizia Lorenzini1
Guido Bellomo1Francesco Sciancalepore1Nicoletta Locuratolo1
Paola Scardetta1
Angela Giusti1
Nicola Vanacore1
Francesca Zambri1- 1National Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, National Institute of Health (ISS), Rome, Italy
- 2Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Universita degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
- 3Cognitive Neuropsychology Center, Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, Milan, Italy
- 4Psychologist, Rome, Italy
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Abstract Background. Longer life expectancy has increased the prevalence of dementia, a major cause of disability in old age, requiring a interdisciplinary approach involving health and social care professionals (HScPs) and family members/caregivers (FmCs). This study aims to describe the current state of dementia care in Italy, identifying strengths, weaknesses, and experiences from FmCs and HScPs. Study design. Descriptive qualitative study. Methods. 42 focus groups have been conducted with 329 participants (187 HScPs and 142 FmCs). Results. The management of dementia is hampered by a marked unevenness in territorial services, with often insufficient services and staff. FmCs complain of difficulties in obtaining information and face a burden of care, exacerbated by the fragmentation of services and the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these critical issues, the support of dementia-specific services (e.g. Centres for Cognitive Disorders and Dementias, Day Care Centres) and associations emerged as crucial. To enhance care, participants emphasized the need for more uniform and integrated services, well-trained professionals, public awareness campaigns to reduce stigma, and increased support for people living with dementia (PLWD) and their families. Conclusions. A holistic and coordinated approach that reduces territorial inequalities and empower effective resources is essential to ensure equitable care and improve the quality of life of PLWD and their families.
Keywords: Dementia, caregiver, health and social care professionals, health needs, qualitative research
Received: 16 Oct 2025; Accepted: 30 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Di Nolfi, Palermo, Palazzesi, Passoni, Camilli, Paggetti, Ancidoni, Fabrizi, Lorenzini, Bellomo, Sciancalepore, Locuratolo, Scardetta, Giusti, Vanacore and Zambri. 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: Annachiara Di Nolfi
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