{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T18:50:31Z","timestamp":1791312631529,"version":"4.3.1"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791244800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosglobalpublichealth.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLOS Glob Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Dementia is a growing public health challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where population aging is expected to substantially increase the regional burden of dementia in the coming decades. Rapidly changing demographics, underdeveloped health infrastructure, and limited awareness of dementia symptoms and care pathways contribute to delayed diagnosis, treatment, and care. This scoping review examined literature published from 2021 to 2025 to identify gaps in dementia care across four key domains: environmental and social factors, technological capacity, community-based caregiving, and financial and economic factors. First, social and ecological factors, including low health literacy, rural residence, and weak primary care infrastructure, influence disease diagnosis and access to care. Second, technological capacity remains limited, including scarce access to neuroimaging and diagnostic tools, limited telemedicine coverage, weak electronic health information systems, and insufficient digital health solutions for early detection, management, and monitoring. Third, evidence from community-based care highlights heavy reliance on informal caregivers who often lack training and institutional support, resulting in substantial emotional, physical, and financial burden. Finally, inadequate public financing for dementia care, coupled with limited insurance coverage, further restricts access to dementia care services and support. Overall, this review highlights critical gaps in policy, evidence generation, cost-effective technology investment, caregiver support, and health systems strengthening across all levels of care. Addressing these multidimensional challenges is crucial to improving the quality of life for people living with dementia and their caregivers across SSA.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pgph.0007265","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T17:52:44Z","timestamp":1791309164000},"page":"e0007265","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pgph.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Dementia care gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review of technology, environmental, community perspectives, and financial constraints"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"6","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5018-4483","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Soarov Chakra","family":"Borty","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Kennesaw State University","place":["Kennesaw, Georgia, United States of America"],"department":["Department of Information Technology"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1251-4618","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Maiya G.","family":"Block Ngaybe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Arizona Cancer Center, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona","place":["Tucson, Arizona, United States of America"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Angela E.","family":"Apeagyei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine, University of Washington","place":["Seattle, Washington, United States of America"],"department":["Department of Health Metrics Sciences"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5169-1759","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Divya","family":"Bhagianadh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Human Performance, & Recreation, University of Arkansas","place":["Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States of America"],"department":["Department of Health"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6663-3885","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Monica H.","family":"Swahn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, Virginia Commonwealth University","place":["Richmond, Virginia, United States of America"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7008-1120","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Nazmus","family":"Sakib","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Kennesaw State University","place":["Kennesaw, Georgia, United States of America"],"department":["Department of Information Technology"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]]},"reference":[{"issue":"11","key":"pgph.0007265.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pgph.0001798","article-title":"Cognition in older adults in Uganda: Correlates, trends over time and association with mortality in prospective population study","volume":"3","author":"JE Prynn","year":"2023","journal-title":"PLOS Glob Public Health"},{"key":"pgph.0007265.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"20","DOI":"10.1111\/jocn.15066","article-title":"Contemporary views on dementia as witchcraft in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic literature review","volume":"29","author":"J Brooke","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Clin Nurs"},{"key":"pgph.0007265.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1148076","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2023.1148076","article-title":"Misconception of dementia-related disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa","volume":"14","author":"AT Adebisi","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front Neurol"},{"issue":"10","key":"pgph.0007265.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"773","DOI":"10.2471\/BLT.13.118422","article-title":"Prevalences of dementia and cognitive impairment among older people in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review","volume":"91","author":"A Mavrodaris","year":"2013","journal-title":"Bull World Health Organ"},{"key":"pgph.0007265.ref005","first-page":"195750","article-title":"Epidemiology of Dementia among the Elderly in Sub-Saharan Africa","volume":"2014","author":"OO Olayinka","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int J Alzheimers Dis"},{"key":"pgph.0007265.ref006","first-page":"2024","article-title":"Management of dementia in a resource-constrained sub-Saharan African setting: outcome of a retrospective survey of clinical practice in the only neuropsychiatric facility in northeastern Nigeria","volume":"2024","author":"IA Wakawa","year":"2024","journal-title":"medRxiv"},{"key":"pgph.0007265.ref007","unstructured":"Prince M, Wimo A, Guerchet M, Ali GC, Wu YT, Prina M. 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