Developing an integrated dementia care model using service blueprinting: process visualization and failure point analysis

With the increasing burden of dementia, existing health service systems still face challenges such as fragmentation and lack of continuity, making the establishment of an integrated service model imperative. This study aimed to use the service blueprint method to systematically visualize the entire service process, identify key failure points, and provide a basis for constructing a person-centered integrated dementia care model. This descriptive qualitative research was conducted in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, from July 2023 to November 2025. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with both service user and provider groups to explore the content and challenges of the entire service process from multiple perspectives. The data were then organized and analyzed using service blueprints. Based on the findings, a blueprint for dementia care was constructed, following a timeline from prevention and screening through diagnosis and intervention to the chronic management period. Patient-side exhibited 12 types of behaviors, including “information seeking and learning” and “undergoing cognitive function screening”. Healthcare institutions carried out 11 types of onstage (visible) employee actions, such as “active promotion” and " risk factors intervention”, as well as five types of backstage (invisible) employee actions, including " cross-institutional collaborative " and “information sharing and interoperability”. Support systems comprised four categories, including “information technology and data platforms” and “organizational management and operational support”, which underpinned the entire process. Furthermore, 19 service failure points were identified across all stages. This study systematically visualized the entire dementia care process via a service blueprint, revealing critical failure points. The most prominent system issues included resource shortages and a disconnect between policy systems and actual service needs. Backstage employee actions reflected insufficient proactive collaboration among institutions, while onstage employee actions showed inadequate interaction between service users and providers. Corresponding countermeasures were proposed, providing empirical evidence and directions for advancing an integrated service model.