This Evidence Check review examined the international evidence regarding effective management and care of people with severe and extreme behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia.

The review looked at what specialist dementia care units have been shown to be effective in managing symptoms of dementia, with a focus on identifying common elements and critical success factors.

The review found four units which demonstrated improvements in behavioural symptoms, and eight common elements, although evidence to support the latter was limited. 

A lack of available process evaluations meant that evidence of success factors was also limited, despite being consistent with the implementation science literature.