Dementia risk reduction in practice: the knowledge, opinions and perspectives of Australian healthcare providers

Lidan Zheng; Kali Godbee; Genevieve Z Steiner; Gail Daylight; Carolyn Ee; Thi Yen Hill; Mark I Hohenberg; Nicola T Lautenschlager; Keith McDonald; Dimity Pond; Kylie Radford; Kaarin J Anstey; Ruth Peters

doi:10.1071/PY20189

Dementia risk reduction in practice: the knowledge, opinions and perspectives of Australian healthcare providers

Aust J Prim Health. 2021 Feb:27:PY20189. doi: 10.1071/PY20189.

Authors

Lidan Zheng¹, Kali Godbee², Genevieve Z Steiner³, Gail Daylight⁴, Carolyn Ee³, Thi Yen Hill⁵, Mark I Hohenberg⁶, Nicola T Lautenschlager⁷, Keith McDonald⁸, Dimity Pond⁹, Kylie Radford¹⁰, Kaarin J Anstey¹⁰, Ruth Peters¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ UNSW Psychology, Sydney, NSW, Australia; and Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, NSW, Australia; and UNSW Ageing Futures Institute, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia; and Corresponding author.
² Department of General Practice, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic., Australia.
³ NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia.
⁴ Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
⁵ Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, NSW, Australia; and Department of Aged Care, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
⁶ School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁷ Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, Department of Psychiatry, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic., Australia; and NorthWestern Mental Health, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
⁸ South Western Sydney PHN (SWSPHN), Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁹ School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
¹⁰ UNSW Psychology, Sydney, NSW, Australia; and Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, NSW, Australia; and UNSW Ageing Futures Institute, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

PMID: 33567248
DOI: 10.1071/PY20189

Abstract

This study examined Australian primary healthcare providers' knowledge about dementia risk factors and risk reduction and their perspectives on barriers and enablers to risk reduction in practice. Primary healthcare providers were recruited through Primary Health Networks across Australia (n =51). Participants completed an online survey that consisted of fixed-responses and free-text components to assess their knowledge, attitudes and current practices relating to dementia risk factors and risk reduction techniques. The results showed that Australian primary healthcare providers have good knowledge about the modifiable risk factors for dementia; however, face several barriers to working with patients to reduce dementia risk. Commonly reported barriers included low patient motivation and healthcare system level limitations. The most commonly reported recommendations to helping primary healthcare providers to work with patients to reduce dementia risk included increasing resources and improving dementia awareness and messaging. While the results need to be interpreted in the context of the limitations of this study, we conclude that collaborative efforts between researchers, clinicians, policy makers and the media are needed to support the uptake of risk reduction activities in primary care settings.