A Roadmap for Modifying Clinician Behavior to Improve the Detection of Cognitive Impairment

Abstract

A staggering number of individuals live with cognitive decline. Primary care providers are ideally situated to detect the first signs of cognitive decline, but many persons remain undiagnosed. This limits their access to appropriate care. Unfortunately, the timely diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or dementia in primary care is difficult to achieve. There is a great need for interventions to address this problem. This article applies an implementation science framework, the Behavioral Change Wheel, to evaluate the factors that influence detection of cognitive impairment in primary care and proposes candidate interventions for future study.