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Screening for dementia in primary care - a viable proposition?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2014

Aideen Freyne
Aideen Freyne*
Affiliation:
The Memory Clinic, St John of God Hospital, Stillorgan, Co. Dublin, Ireland
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Abstract

Health policy documents recommend screening for cognitive impairment, although in practice this is not implemented. This article looks at the issues which require consideration in implementing a screening programme. These include factors pertinent to the disease under consideration, resources, both personnel and time, lack of experience of cognitive screening at a primary care level, use of screening instruments and uncertainty about management of positive cases. Only by identifying the practical difficulties involved in screening, can steps can be taken to overcome them and to implement screening programmes which are acceptable to the population under consideration and their primary care physicians.

Keywords

ScreeningScreening testsDementia
Type
Perspective
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , June 2001 , pp. 75 - 77
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2001

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