Aging and Health Research (Jun 2022)
Dementia of the ageing population in Malaysia: A scoping review of published research
Abstract
Background: Malaysia will become an ageing nation by 2030. However, there is scarce published information about the outlook of published research literature on the older adults population with dementia in Malaysia. Hence, this scoping review is conducted to obtain an overview of research studies published in this area. Methods: Articles containing relevant keywords were searched in PubMed, Embase and ScienceDirect electronic databases. Full-texts of relevant studies were retrieved and categorized into themes and subthemes adapted from Aging and Social Change Research Network. Results: A total of 1116 studies were retrieved and after discarding duplicates and irrelevant studies, 47 studies were included. Analysis of the 47 collated studies successfully categorized approximately 74% of reviewed studies into the Medical Perspectives, followed by roughly 18% grouped into the Social and Cultural Perspectives, and around 8% sorted into the Public Policy and Public Perspectives theme. In addition, 16 out of 31 subthemes spanning all four major themes were identified as potential research gaps on dementia in the older adults population in Malaysia. Conclusions: This scoping review provides an insight into the existing published literature on dementia in the older adults population in Malaysia. In addition, research communities will be able to better understand our needs in this topic, enabling the prioritization of research that aligns with identified gaps and priorities.
