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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Reported practices of primary care physicians in the diagnosis and management of dementia | | Author(s) | M Cody, C Beck, V M Shue |
| Journal title | Aging & Mental Health, vol 6, no 1, February 2002 |
| Pages | pp 72-76 |
| Source | http://www.tandfonline.com |
| Keywords | Dementia ; Diagnosis ; Medical care ; General practitioners ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | The shortage of geriatric specialists in the US may require that primary care physicians (PCPs) receive more education on diagnosing and managing dementia, since the number of older Americans with dementia will increase from about 5 million in 2010 to up to 14 million in 2050. A brief anonymous questionnaire was administered to determine PCPs' diagnostic, referral and management practices to a convenience sample of 142 PCPs in Arkansas. The PCPs who reported difficulty establishing the diagnosis of dementia had more difficulty telling the diagnosis. The PCPs were less likely to tell the patient if they suspected dementia than if they were sure the patient had dementia. In both cases, they were more likely to tell the family, although this difference was not statistically significant. The PCPs discussed disease progression and driving risks with patients and families, but few referred them to social workers or community agencies. Findings support training PCPs in the diagnosis and management of persons with dementia and providing tools to improve care. (KJ/RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-020305208 A |
| Classmark | EA: LK7: LK: QT6: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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