Aims and objectives
More than 41,700 people in Ireland and 12,000 people in North Wales are currently living with dementia,
and the number of Irish people with the disease is likely to rise to 147,000 by 2041 (1) due to increased life expectancy.
Dementia frequently remains undiagnosed,
however,
even though early diagnosis is essential for the provision of adequate treatment and care.
At the same time the capability of neuroimaging in the diagnosis and understanding of dementia is underutilised.
The aim of the current study was to establish...
Methods and materials
The research design was a postal questionnaire survey.
Separate questionnaires containing open and closed questions relating to accessibility,
perceived importance of referral patterns,
including adherence to guidelines,
and knowledge relating to neuroimaging in dementia were developed for the individual groups (clinicians,
radiologists,
radiographers).
The questionnaires were posted nationally to all neurologists (n = 46),
geriatricians (n = 78),
old-age psychiatrists (n=53) and all radiologists (n=236).
Since there is currently no national listing of radiographers,
a pre-questionnaire letter was sent to all radiography service mangers (RSMs)...
Results
The survey response rate was 43.2% for geriatricians,
neurologists and old-age psychiatrists (Figure 1),
and 16% for radiologists.
Thirty-five percent of RSMs participated and a total of 40 Radiographer questionnaires were returned.
58.3% of the clinicians were male compared to 75.7% of radiologists and 27.5% of radiographers.
The majority of participants worked in county Dublin (Figure 2).
Most of the clinicians (77.6%) worked under the general medical scheme,
while 40.5% of radiologists worked in a teaching or university hospital,
18.9% worked in a general hospital,...
Conclusion
The survey results suggest that there is a need for further training in neuroimaging in dementia among clinicians in order to improve knowledge and confidence in respect of this imaging technology.
Results suggest that there is a strong interest in training in this area and underline the need for increased use and awareness of guidelines.
References
1.
Cahill S,
O'Shea E,
Pierce M.
Creating Excellence in Dementia Care: A Research Review for Ireland's National Dementia Strategy.
Dublin: Ireland: Trinity College Dublin,
2012.