Translating knowledge into practice at the local level: evaluation of a Pilot CME for primary care physicians on dementia early diagnosis and management Over 30 countries have adopted National Strategic Plans for Dementia care (NSPD) (Chow et al., 2018). These strategies are considered the single most powerful means to transform dementia care at the national level (Alzheimer's Disease International, 2017). Although NSPD are unique to each country, they share some objectives, for example, improving training and education of professionals working with people with dementia (PwD) is a priority in the NSPDs' of 16 countries. In some
Aim: Primary care physicians have an important role in the early diagnosis and management of dementia as a common first point of contact for patients dealing with cognitive decline. Our aim was to explore primary care physicians knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding care of people with dementia and their families.
Methods: A cross sectional study among primary care physicians, attending their annual conference. The self-complete questionnaire included questions measured with a five point Likert scale as well as open-ended questions. Multivariable linear regression models were used to evaluate primary care physicians confidence in their dementia diagnosis and their level of knowledge and training.
Results: Questionnaires were returned by 95 primary care physicians, a 24% response rate. The majority of primary care physicians feel it is their role to diagnose dementia (87%), unfortunately, 80% do not feel confident in making this diagnosis and 66% feel they are lacking knowledge or training to do so. They report they need more training on non-pharmacological interventions (86%), pharmacological treatments (92%), and community services (92%). Regression analysis revealed that lack of easily accessible screening tools plays an important role in confidence in dementia diagnosis.
Conclusion: Our results may help policy makers plan interventions to meet training and system needs of primary care physicians and translate the national dementia policy guidelines into practice at the local level.
Keywords: physicians, primary care, dementia, early diagnosis, adult day care centers
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.