How can your Practice Improve Care for your Patients with Alzheimer’s and Dementia?

A 2020 survey from the Alzheimer’s Association found 87% of primary care professionals expect to see an increase in people living with dementia in the next five years, but only 50% said medical professionals are prepared to meet this demand. Yet, primary care professionals play a pivotal role in diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) and recommending lifestyle changes to their patients to reduce their risk for dementia. This module will discuss risk factors for ADRD, risk reduction strategies, evidence-based practices for culturally sensitive ADRD care, and using a team approach to ADRD care.

Learning Objectives

After completing this module, the learner should be able to:

• Identify risk factors for ADRD.
• Implement risk reduction strategies for primary care patients at risk for dementia.
• Initiate conversations about brain health with patients at risk for dementia.
• Use culturally-sensitive cognitive assessments to support early diagnosis of dementia.
• Describe the importance of care planning after a dementia diagnosis, including identifying a care partner (caregiver) and their needs.

Who Should Complete this Module?

Primary care clinicians and teams.

Funded by a CDC BOLD grant to CDPHE, this module was created to address actions of the Colorado Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Advisory Committee (ADRDAC). The vision of the ADRDAC is to address the special needs of Coloradans living with Alzheimer’s Disease, Related Dementias, and their care partners, through a Colorado State Plan that is evidence-based and provides intentional focus on highly impacted populations of Black/African Americans, Latinx/o/a/Hispanic/Chicano/a, American Indian/Alaska Natives, and their care partners. We thank members of the ADRDAC, Colorado primary care clinicians, and partners from the Alzheimer’s Association for feedback on the module.