The spirituality of people with dementia: a review of the research, a concept analysis and a consideration of its practical implications

Attempts to investigate and describe the distinctive spirituality of people with dementia suffer from a serious methodological difficulty in that, by the stage that dementia becomes the determining existential reality, communication is likely to be difficult or impossible. In this paper, the author uses a three stage process to elucidate this problem, its implications and constructive possibilities. First, a critical literature review is undertaken to evaluate the present state of research and explore its assumptions and methodologies. This is followed by a concept analysis to identify possible suggestions in the speculative literature. Finally, each of these solutions is examined in turn for its implications for the definitions and of and discourse on spirituality in dementia care.