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Donate Now— Special journal supplement explores how dementia care can better reflect individual needs, relationships and lived experience —
CHICAGO, Sept. 8, 2026 — A new collection of dementia care research is calling for a fundamental shift in how person-centered care is defined, measured and delivered, arguing that the concept must move beyond theory and become a measurable standard across care settings.Published as a special supplement to the Journal of Applied Gerontology, “Reconstructing Person-Centeredness” was developed through the Leveraging an Interdisciplinary Consortium to Improve Care and Outcomes for Persons Living with Alzheimer's and Dementia (LINC-AD) and led by guest editors, Drs. Sam Fazio and Lauren Stratton at the Alzheimer’s Association and Dr. Sheryl Zimmerman at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. The supplement examines how person-centered dementia care can be more clearly defined, consistently measured and more effectively integrated across health care, long-term care, research and technology.
Bringing together researchers, care providers, technology experts and people living with dementia, the supplement explores a concept that is widely embraced but often inconsistently applied across care settings.
"Person-centeredness is not a fixed destination, but a dynamic and continuously negotiated process," the authors wrote, noting that effective dementia care must balance competing priorities while honoring each person's values, preferences and goals.
Among the supplement's key findings:
- Definitions of person-centered dementia care vary significantly, underscoring the need for a more consistent and comprehensive framework. Common themes include relationships, personhood, empowerment, autonomy, individualization, and attention to psychological and environmental needs.
- Person-centered care is shaped by factors at multiple levels, including societal systems and policies, organizational culture, leadership, direct care interactions, and family involvement.
- An international survey identified five core principles of person-centered dementia care: individualized care, caregiver support, individual empowerment, respectful relationships, and a holistic approach to wellness.
- Person-centered care remains difficult to achieve consistently due to barriers such as stigma, workforce challenges, resource limitations, organizational structures, and regulatory constraints.
The tool was developed in response to a growing recognition that person-centered care cannot become a widespread standard unless it can be measured in meaningful and consistent ways. Researchers found that many current assessment tools described as person-centered do not adequately incorporate the perspectives, preferences and experiences of people living with dementia and their care partners.
"One of the most significant contributions of this work is its focus on measurement,” said Sam Fazio, a co-guest editor. “If person-centered care is truly a standard we value, we need reliable ways to evaluate and improve it. Tools such as PC-MET have the potential to help researchers and providers better understand whether care and research practices are genuinely reflecting the priorities of people living with dementia and their care partners.”
Researchers report that PC-MET can reliably assess the person-centeredness of existing research measures while also serving as a roadmap for developing future tools. By providing a practical framework for evaluation, the tool represents an important step toward making person-centered dementia care more measurable, accountable and scalable across dementia research and care delivery.
The supplement also examines the growing role of technology in dementia care. Researchers found that technology can enhance engagement and personalization when people living with dementia, caregivers, and providers are involved in its design and implementation. At the same time, the authors caution that technology should enhance human connection, not replace it.
A distinguishing feature of the supplement is its inclusion of perspectives from members of the Alzheimer's Association Early-Stage Advisory Group, reinforcing the importance of incorporating lived experience into dementia research and care. Participants emphasized that person-centeredness is rooted in empathy, respect, and meaningful human relationships. One contributor described it simply: “Person-centeredness means letting you into my world.”
The authors conclude that person-centeredness should no longer be viewed as an aspirational philosophy but as an essential and measurable component of quality dementia care. They call for greater collaboration among researchers, care providers, policymakers, technology developers and people living with dementia to establish shared definitions, measurement standards and best practices.
The authors conclude that advancing person-centered dementia care will require continued research, stronger measurement tools and sustained efforts to embed person-centered practices throughout health care and long-term care systems worldwide.
About the Alzheimer's Association
The Alzheimer’s Association is a worldwide voluntary health organization dedicated to Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Our mission is to lead the way to end Alzheimer's and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer's and all other dementia®. Visit alz.org or call 800.272.3900.