From gathering information to building relationships: a scoping review of how long-term care staff get to know residents living with dementia

Background Knowing about the life history, culture, and personality of a person living with dementia is considered a prerequisite for staff to provide person-centred dementia care in long-term care settings. This concept of knowing the person behind the dementia diagnosis is similar to “person knowledge.” However, little is known about how person knowledge is obtained, used, and shared by staff in their everyday work. Objectives To map how long-term care staff obtain, use and communicate person knowledge about residents living with dementia within the constraints of their everyday resources. Method A scoping review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidelines, using PsychInfo, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed and ProQuest Nursing and Allied Health from inception to 1 January 2025. Themes were identified and mapped using thematic synthesis. Results Forty-seven articles met inclusion criteria. Staff obtained person knowledge from residents, families and other staff via conversations, observations, documentation, and interventions such as Life Story Work. Person knowledge was used to improve communication and individualise care. There was a lack of direct focus on how staff communicate person knowledge beyond formal handovers, documentation, and staff conversations. Four analytic themes illustrate how person knowledge is obtained, used, and communicated: 1. Obtaining basic person knowledge is intuitive and often possible within usual resourcing, 2. Developing richer person knowledge requires person-centred culture, 3. Person knowledge is used as a mechanism for person-centred care, 4. Communicating rich, holistic, dynamic person knowledge is complex. Discussion and implications Person knowledge exists on a continuum, from basic factual information gathered through routine processes to richer, holistic conceptualisations of the person which are developed through ongoing relationships. Gaining, using, and communicating richer person knowledge requires a person-centred organisational culture with a focus on consistent staffing, time, and communication skills. These findings suggest that person knowledge is not simply information about residents but the foundational element of relationships which are the mechanism through which person-centred care is enacted.