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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Diagnosis-seeking at subspeciality memory clinics
— trigger events | | Author(s) | Megan E Streams, Sarah B Wackerbarth, Alan Maxwell |
| Journal title | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 18, no 10, October 2003 |
| Pages | pp 915-924 |
| Keywords | Dementia ; Diagnosis ; Informal care ; Geriatric out-patients clinics ; Social surveys ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | Research has shown that dementia often goes unrecognised, and diagnostic assessment is often further delayed. Understanding families' decision to seek care at memory clinics is relevant to efforts to facilitate early diagnosis. The authors surveyed a consecutive sample of 416 caregivers who accompanied a patient to an assessment at two memory disorder clinics affiliated to the University of Kentucky. Caregivers described events that led them to seek a memory assessment for the patient. Changes in the patient (cognitive, personality or behaviour, physical or unspecified) accounted for 81% of 903 trigger events reported. Nearly half of the caregivers noting specific patient changes recorded some combination, rather than cognitive changes alone. Of the 33% who noted a change in the patient as a trigger, 85% specified at least one cognitive change, while 40% specified at least one personality or behavioural change. Memory loss was the most frequent trigger reported, followed by disorientation and recommendations (lay and professional). Caregivers themselves and non-specialist physicians were the most frequent sources of recommendations noted by all respondents. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-031106203 A |
| Classmark | EA: LK7: P6: L6G: 3F: 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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