Impact of educational interventions on health-care professionals’ knowledge and practices in dementia detection and management: A systematic review

Health-care professionals (HPs) play a key role in dementia management and detection. However, there is a gap in the literature as to what represents best practice with regard to educating HPs to improve their knowledge, detection, and management of clients with dementia. To synthesize and aggregate the educational intervention studies that aimed to improve knowledge and practices for detection and management of clients with dementia among HPs. A comprehensive search of literature was conducted for the articles published between 2000 and 2025. Articles involving educational interventions among health-care professionals’ knowledge and practices of dementia detection and management. Citation searching and reference list screening yielded additional studies. Including 29 articles, the results showed that practical skills play a critical role in bridging theoretical knowledge and clinical application. Interventions that were delivered via peer educators, i.e. educated GPs or nurses, were particularly effective because they valued the unique challenges of the clinical environment. The most effective materials targeted both knowledge and emotional barriers, focusing on building confidence in communication, managing difficult behaviors, and connecting patients with relevant resources. The evidence clearly indicates that only integrative, interactive, and skills-based educational approaches lead to sustained improvements in dementia detection and management. Passive, one-time, or theory-only programs without adequate support demonstrated limited effectiveness. Overall, multimodal, practice-oriented programs combining peer-led workshops, hands-on screening training, and case-based learning addressing real-world communication and management challenges are most effective for dementia care skills.