Communication Breakdown in Patients With Alzheimer Disease: An Evolutionary Concept Analysis

Background: Impaired communication is a common problem for many people with Alzheimer disease (AD), which results in behavioral disturbances and psychosocial distress. The current literature lacks a clear and unified conceptual definition of communication breakdown in AD, which limits its effective management. Aim: This article aims to clarify the concept of communication breakdown in patients with AD by identifying its attributes, antecedents, and consequences to propose a new operational definition of the concept. Data Sources: A systematic search was conducted on the databases such as Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, PsycINFO, Scopus, Medline, Social Sciences Index, and EMBASE between the years 2010 and 2026. Design: Rodgers' evolutionary framework of concept analysis (2000) was used as a guide for analyzing the communication breakdown concept. Results/Conclusion: Four main attributes were extracted to describe and propose a coherent definition of communication breakdown in patients with AD that encompass cognitive and memory impairment, language impairment, failure of concentration and attention, and behavioral and emotional disorder. Implications for Case Management Practice: This concept analysis provides an operational and new definition that will improve knowledge of issues related to communication breakdown in AD, which can be used by family caregivers, case managers, and health care providers when preventing and managing communication problems in patients with AD.