The Role of General Practice and the Primary Care Team in Dementia Diagnosis and Management

People with Dementia in a Rural Community

“…The importance of the role of the GP in early diagnosis is widely acknowledged in the literature (O'Conner et al, 1993;DHSS (NI), 1995;Downs, 1996;Iliffe et al, 1999). The findings of this research based on the total population of GP practices indicate that there were differences in the number of people with dementia known to each practice, although this research cannot explain these variations.…”

Adherence to Medication Regimens is an Effective Indicator of Cognitive Dysfunction in Elderly Individuals

“…The Lawton’s instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) scale determines an individual’s ability to perform basic self-care tasks and the complex skills that are needed for successful independent living. The study has demonstrated that IADL may be an important indicator of elderly cognitive impairment, 10 and several other studies have demonstrated that the assessment of IADL is useful for detecting early dementia. 11 -14 Thus, we hypothesize that an elderly individual’s ability to effectively manage medication is not maintained, even in the absence of problems with daily care and before changes in activities of daily living (ADL) occur.…”

Hungarian general practitioners’ attitude and the role of education in dementia care

“…Many studies confirm the importance of training programs for GPs as it improves the rates of reported dementia cases and achieves better participation in the management of dementia (Downs et al, 2006;Caruana-Pulpan and Scerri, 2014). Training and support for GPs may change their attitude that they have little to offer to patients living with dementia and to their relatives (Downs, 1996). Several studies confirm that GPs' training should be practical, evidence-based and relevant, as well as tailored to their special needs: take into account their maturity, using individualized methods and include interprofessional education (Iliffe et al, 2002; Dreier-Wolfgramm et al, 2017).…”