Self- and Proxy-Completion of Quality of Life Assessment in Dementia Care: A Review of Reviews.

Background and Purpose: Quality of life (QOL) assessment invites the perspectives of people living with dementia to be shared with family caregivers and healthcare providers. A review of reviews was conducted to describe synthesized evidence (i.e., from other reviews) regarding self- and proxy-reports of QOL for this population. Methods: Searches were conducted in four databases. The 25 included articles addressed self- or proxy-rated patient-reported outcome measures, focused on any type of dementia, and were a review or synthesis published in English. Results: Individuals with dementia are largely able to self-report QOL. Proxy-reports are incongruent with self-reports due to various factors, including the proxy-patient relationship and perspective of measurement. Conclusion: When assessing QOL for people with dementia, self-reports are preferred to proxy-reports; however, a combination is recommended.