Call for papers - Palliative care in people with dementia

Guest Editors

Emmanuelle Belanger, PhD, Brown University School of Public Health, USA
Hum Yin Mei Allyn, MRCP, MCI, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Palliative Care Centre for Excellence in Research and Education, Singapore
Nuriye Kupeli, MSc, PhD, University College London, UK
Nicola White, MSc, PhD, University College London, UK

Submission Status: Open | Submission Deadline: 18 December 2025

BMC Palliative Care is calling for submissions to our Collection on "Palliative care in people with dementia." This Collection invites researchers to submit their work focused on enhancing the quality of life for individuals with dementia through effective palliative care strategies. We aim to showcase innovative approaches, interdisciplinary care models, and insights into the unique challenges faced by this population to ultimately improve care outcomes for patients and their caregivers.

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Meet the Guest Editors

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Emmanuelle Belanger, PhD, Brown University School of Public Health, USA

Dr Emmanuelle Belanger is an Associate Professor of Health Services, Policy & Practice at Brown University’s School of Public Health. She earned her PhD from McGill University, where she conducted a qualitative study on patient participation in palliative care decisions. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship in the social epidemiology of aging, she joined Brown University in 2017. Her research uses mixed-methods approaches and focuses on assessing and managing patient-reported symptoms in older adults, improving end-of-life care across various settings, and exploring decision-making processes related to palliative care options.

Hum Yin Mei Allyn, MRCP, MCI, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Palliative Care Centre for Excellence in Research and Education, Singapore

Dr Allyn Hum is dually accredited in Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine. Alongside her role as a clinician in the Departments of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, she is also the Director of the Palliative Care Centre for Excellence in Research and Education (PalC). Her research feeds into the educational endeavors undertaken at PalC and include the use of prognostic models to integrate early palliative care in cancer and non-cancer. Allyn is currently working to develop seamless models of care for advanced illnesses (including dementia) in Singapore with the use of predictive AI in electronic health records. She is currently also the academic director of the Holistic PalliativE (HoPE) degree, the first Masters in Science in Palliative medicine developed in conjunction with Lee Kong Chian of Medicine Medicine, Nanyang Technological University for the Asia Pacific region.

Nuriye Kupeli, MSc, PhD, University College London, UK

Dr Nuriye Kupeli is a Principal Research Fellow at the Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Department, University College London. Her work focuses on family carers’ experiences of compassion while caring for someone living with dementia and its impact on carer well being. Dr Kupeli is a mixed methods researcher who has published over 40 manuscripts and book chapters. She was awarded the Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Hero Award for Research for her work on the development of a decision aid to support carers when making difficult decisions during the pandemic. She is also a Co-Investigator for the ESRC/NIHR Empowering Better End of life Dementia Care programme.

Nicola White, MSc, PhD, University College London, UK

Dr Nicola White is a Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Head of the Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Department (MCPCRD). She is a non-clinical researcher interested in palliative care research, specifically regarding the identification and recognition of palliative care need through survival predictions. She has been based at the MCPCRD since 2011 and has led multiple projects using multiple methodologies. You can read more about Nicola through her ORCID profile.

About the Collection

Dementia presents unique challenges for both patients and caregivers, particularly when it comes to palliative care. As cognitive decline progresses, individuals with dementia may experience a range of symptoms that require specialized attention, including pain management, emotional support, and assistance with daily activities.

The significance of advancing palliative care for individuals with dementia lies in the potential to enhance their overall well-being during the later stages of life. Recent research has highlighted the importance of person-centered approaches that respect the dignity and preferences of dementia patients. Furthermore, innovations in communication techniques, interdisciplinary care models, and caregiver training programs have shown promise in alleviating distress and improving patient outcomes. However, ongoing research is needed to identify best practices, assess the efficacy of various interventions, and develop comprehensive care frameworks that are sensitive to the nuances of dementia. Moreover, an increased focus on training healthcare professionals in dementia-specific palliative care practices may enhance the overall quality of care and support for this vulnerable population.

This Collection aims to showcase research on palliative care in people with dementia. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

Integrating technology in palliative care for dementia
Person-centered approaches in dementia care
Symptoms management strategies for dementia patients
Interdisciplinary models of care for dementia
Supporting caregivers in palliative care

All manuscripts submitted to this journal, including those submitted to collections and special issues, are assessed in line with our editorial policies and the journal’s peer review process. Reviewers and editors are required to declare competing interests and can be excluded from the peer review process if a competing interest exists.

There are currently no articles in this collection.

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Palliative care in people with dementia" from the dropdown menu.

All manuscripts submitted to this journal, including those submitted to collections and special issues, are assessed in line with our editorial policies and the journal’s peer review process. Reviewers and editors are required to declare competing interests and can be excluded from the peer review process if a competing interest exists.