Health information needs of older adults with mild cognitive impairment and their families: A review
Elahe Zare-Farashbandi

Date and Time

Wednesday, November 11, 2026

Theme / Track

Health, medical and integrated care

Presentation Format

Poster Presentation
Background: The global impact of dementia is expected to rise with population ageing. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a pre-dementia stage, offers a promising window to implement preventive strategies tailored to individuals’ information needs. We aimed to synthesise evidence on the information needs of people with MCI (PWMCI) and their families. Methods: An integrative review was conducted using Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Cochrane, and Scopus. Data were synthesised in accordance with Whittemore and Knafl's (2005) framework. Results: Nine studies from six countries, USA, UK, Australia, Germany, China, and the Netherlands, were included from 6,823 screened records, identifying two overarching themes: (a) unmet information needs and (b) strategies to address information needs. At the pre-diagnosis stage of MCI, information to raise symptom awareness and understand the diagnosis process was most required; at the time of diagnosis, disease-related information, available support, individualised information, and culturally responsive education were required; following diagnosis, care-related information and knowledge of available resources were needed. Strategies to address these gaps included facilitating information communication, proactive information-seeking behaviour, and providing diverse information delivery modalities, with healthcare and memory clinic improvements as system-level support domains. Conclusions: Addressing information gaps at the MCI stage can improve dementia literacy and potentially reduce or delay progression to dementia. Yet, limited evidence on information needs at this stage and the underrepresentation of PWMCI and their family’s perspectives underscore the importance of further research on this “golden time” of the MCI stage.

Keywords

Dementia, Diagnosis, Education and Training, Informal Caregivers

Authors

Distinguished Professor Alison M. Hutchinson, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Centre for Quality and Patient Safety, Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia; Barwon Health, Geelong, Victoria
Distinguished Professor Tracey Bucknall, School of Nursing, Deakin University, Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research, Institute for Health Transformation, Geelong, Victoria, Australia; Alfred Hospital, Bayside Health, Melbourne, Victoria
Dr Eva Yuen, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Centre for Quality and Patient Safety, Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia; Monash Health, Clayton, Victoria