Reconceptualising Dementia Education: From Information Transfer to Behavioural and Contextual Change

Abstract

Peter Carey

Dementia represents one of the fastest-growing global public health challenges, with increasing prevalence placing significant pressure on individuals, families, and healthcare systems. In response, dementia education initiatives have expanded rapidly across digital platforms, community-based programs, caregiver interventions, and public health campaigns. Despite these developments, evidence suggests that improved access to information alone does not consistently lead to sustained behavioural change or meaningful real-world outcomes. This paper critically reviews contemporary literature relating to dementia education, health literacy, behaviour change, and implementation science. The review identifies a persistent gap between knowledge acquisition and behavioural enactment, highlighting the limitations of traditional information-transfer models. Drawing on health literacy theory, the Capability–Opportunity– Motivation Behaviour (COM-B) model, implementation science, and interpretative engagement theory, the paper argues, dementia education should be viewed as a dynamic, context-sensitive process that is influenced by emotional factors, engagement, interpretation, and environmental conditions (LoBue & Ogren, 2022). (LoBue & Ogren, 2022). Particular attention is given to interpretative engagement as a mechanism through which individuals construct personal meaning from dementia-related information. The review further identifies significant methodological limitations within current research, including overreliance on short-term knowledge outcomes, limited real-world evaluation, and insufficient consideration of contextual influences. In response, the paper proposes an integrated conceptual framework that shifts evaluation from simple resource availability toward effectiveness, usability, behavioural readiness, and sustained impact. The proposed study is methodologically based on a sequential four-phase mixed-methods design informed by critical realism and a pragmatic orientation to explore how dementia education functions across different real-world contexts (Glover et al., 2020). The framework contributes to emerging interdisciplinary approaches to dementia education by integrating behavioural science, health literacy, implementation theory, and contextual interpretation into a unified model capable of informing future research, intervention design, and policy development.

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