CHSU Discovery

Abstract:
Alzheimer’s dementia affects approximately 50 million people in the world and was the sixth leading cause of death in the United States in 2014 (Heron, 2016). The death rate due to Alzheimer’s increased by 55% from 1999 to 2014 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). Several studies have shown that in primary care, the majority of older adults with dementia are undiagnosed. Mild dementia is particularly under-diagnosed. In 2014, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force concluded current evidence was not sufficient to assess the benefits of screening for cognitive impairment. Routine dementia screening in primary care using cognitive screening tools appeared to improve dementia case detection rates (Eichler et al., 2015). Primary care providers were often not sure which cognitive screening tool to use, and some had expressed reluctance to do the screening and use the screening tools due to lack of knowledge. The purpose of this QI project is to use one dementia screening tool that was easy to administer in primary care clinic to initiate intervention early and connect patients and their caregivers to community resources.