Social science & medicine
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Social science & medicine · Dec 2008
General practitioners' experiences and understandings of diagnosing dementia: factors impacting on early diagnosis.
This article reports findings from three linked qualitative research projects that explored how Australian general practitioners (GPs) spoke about their experiences in diagnosing dementia and their views on early diagnosis and barriers towards early diagnosis. The authors conducted this research with the aim of elucidating the GP perspective and using this to better understand the process of diagnosing dementia and delays in diagnosing dementia. Twenty-four GPs based in Australia participated in the study (eleven females and thirteen males). ⋯ GPs assess the need for a formal diagnosis of dementia within the broader context of their older patients' lives. They are more likely to pursue a formal diagnosis in situations where they see it leading to benefits for their patient such as accessing dementia specific services. Increasing the availability of support services for PWD and educating GPs about the benefits of a formal diagnosis of dementia for stakeholders other than PWD, for example family members and carers may increase the likelihood that they will diagnose dementia early.