Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease Reports 5 (2021) 681–692 DOI 10.3233/ADR-200259 IOS Press 681 Review The Use of Mobile Applications as Communication Aids for People with Dementia: Opportunities and Limitations Anjay Ambegaonkar a,∗ , Craig Ritchie b and Sofia de la Fuente Garcia c a Independent Researcher, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA b Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK c Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK Accepted 5 July 2021 Pre-press 30 July 2021 Abstract. Background: Communication difficulties are one of the primary symptoms associated with dementia, and mobile applications have shown promise as tools for facilitating communication in patients with dementia (PwD). The literature regarding mobile health (mHealth) applications, especially communications-based mHealth applications, is limited. Objective: This review aims to compile the existing literature on communications-based mobile applications regarding dementia and assess their opportunities and limitations. A PICO framework was applied with a Population consisting of PwD, Interventions consisting of communication technology, focusing primarily on mobile applications, Comparisons between patient well-being with and without technological intervention, and Outcomes that vary but can include usability of technology, quality of communication, and user acceptance. Methods: Searches of PubMed, IEEE XPLORE, and ACM Digital Library databases were conducted to establish a com- prehensive understanding of the current literature on dementia care as related to 1) mobile applications, 2) communication technology, and 3) communications-based mobile applications. Applying certain inclusion and exclusion criteria, yielded a set of articles (n = 11). Results: The literature suggests that mobile applications as tools for facilitating communication in PwD are promising. Mobile applications are not only feasible socially, logistically, and financially, but also produce meaningful communication improvements in PwD and their caregivers. However, the number of satisfactory communications-based mobile applications in the mHealth marketplace and their usability is still insufficient. Conclusion: Despite favorable outcomes, more research involving PwD using these applications are imperative to shed further light on their communication needs and on the role of mHealth. Keywords: Caregiver, communication, dementia, mobile applications ∗ Correspondence to: Anjay Ambegaonkar, 9 Molly Pitcher Rd, Marlboro, NJ 07746, USA. Tel.: +1 908 216 6331; E-mail: anjay 03@yahoo.com. INTRODUCTION In recent years, dementia diagnosis has increased quite significantly and is projected to increase in the future [1]. The current lack of preventative medica- tion or disease-modifying intervention places most of the burden on caregivers, and the literature suggests that as patients with dementia (PwD) cognitively ISSN 2542-4823 © 2021 – The authors. Published by IOS Press. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (CC BY-NC 4.0).