An Occupational Therapy Perspective on Environmental Interventions for Community-Dwelling People With Dementia: A Scoping Review.

Abstract

ImportanceEnvironmental interventions support "aging in place" for people with dementia. However, the specific roles of occupational therapists within multidisciplinary teams providing these interventions require systematic mapping to clarify their value.ObjectiveTo map characteristics of multidisciplinary environmental interventions for community-dwelling people with dementia and clarify specific occupational therapy roles.Data SourcesPubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect were searched for peer-reviewed studies (January 2010-July 2025).Study Selection and Data CollectionFollowing JBI and PRISMA-ScR guidelines, two reviewers independently selected studies and charted data on multidisciplinary environmental interventions.FindingsSeventeen studies were included, featuring interventions like home modifications and technology-based programs. Occupational therapists primarily conducted functional and environmental assessments, utilized person-environment-occupation perspectives for intervention planning, and facilitated multidisciplinary team processes. Key outcomes included functional performance, fall risk, and caregiver measures.Conclusions and RelevanceOccupational therapists crucially link functional abilities with environmental conditions. This review highlights their contributions while identifying gaps in how multidisciplinary collaboration and occupational therapy roles are operationalized and reported.