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A National Survey Exploring Dementia Diagnostics and Care Provisions in Primary Care in England
Darby, A.; Shaw, J.; Cooper, C.; Chemas, N.; Marshall, C. R.; Mukadam, N.; Smith, K.; Khan et al.. medRxiv (preprint), 2026-09-12
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
BackgroundThe 10 Year Health Plan for England indicates governmental intention to shift care from hospital to community. Disease Modifying Treatments (DMTs) and biomarker tests for dementia will likely be introduced, with potentially significant impacts on community care, particularly general practice. AimTo explore dementia diagnosis, post diagnostic support and expectations around future care in primary care settings. Design and SettingCodesigned survey with general practitioners (GPs), policy researchers, carers and people with lived experience. One GP per practice invited from five of Englands Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). MethodsInductive content analysis for qualitative responses and non-weighted means calculated for quantitative answers. Findings contextualised using national data. ResultsBetween September and December 2025, 80/1094 (7.3%) eligible practices participated (80 GPs). Most, (79/80, 98.8%) used cognitive assessments and 100% (80/80) blood tests to support dementia diagnosis, with 27/70 (39.7%) able to order brain scans directly. GPs primarily conducted annual physical, mental or care plan reviews for people with known dementia. Respondents considered it unlikely (47/80, 58.8%) they would formally diagnose dementia or assess (50/80, 62.3%) for DMT eligibility in the next five years. GPs considered it somewhat/most likely (54/80, 67.5%) they could offer blood biomarker tests and continue established DMT prescribing or monitoring (61/80, 76.3%). Resource, capacity and training needs were perceived barriers. ConclusionGPs are the first point of contact for accessing a dementia diagnosis in England. Accommodating novel diagnostic tools and treatments requires a reimagining of the relationship between primary, secondary and social care to address GP reported constraints.
Key findings
- Disease Modifying Treatments (DMTs) and biomarker tests for dementia will likely be introduced, with potentially significant impacts on community care, particularly general practice.
Why it matters
This survey of general practitioners in England explored current dementia diagnosis and care, and expectations about future disease-modifying treatments and biomarker tests. It is about health services and planning, not about treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Effect size7.3%; 98.8%; 39.7%
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 24 on the same rubric, but non-peer-reviewed sources are capped at 16, so it shows as 16. Scored zero for study design, sample size, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on impact for its field and year, so that was left out: it earned 23 of the 94 points we could judge it on, which is 24 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (medRxiv (preprint)) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 4 / 10 | Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. Hosted on a preprint server. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 0 / 7 | Cited 0 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.0 citations a year over 2 year(s) since 2026 |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Greta Rait: h-index 53 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University College London: institution h-index 2,029 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 23 / 94 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 23 of the 94 points we could judge it on is 24 out of 100. |
| Total | 24 / 100 | Capped to 16 because this is not a peer-reviewed article. |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Darby, A., Shaw, J., Cooper, C., Chemas, N., Marshall, C. R., Mukadam, N., et al. (2026). A National Survey Exploring Dementia Diagnostics and Care Provisions in Primary Care in England. medRxiv (preprint). https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.11.26362825
Vancouver
Darby A, Shaw J, Cooper C, Chemas N, Marshall CR, Mukadam N, et al. A National Survey Exploring Dementia Diagnostics and Care Provisions in Primary Care in England. medRxiv (preprint). 2026. doi:10.64898/2026.09.11.26362825.
BibTeX
@article{darby2026-4bcb0cda,
author = {Darby, A. and Shaw, J. and Cooper, C. and Chemas, N. and Marshall, C. R. and Mukadam, N. and Smith, K. and Khan and others},
title = {{A National Survey Exploring Dementia Diagnostics and Care Provisions in Primary Care in England}},
journal = {medRxiv (preprint)},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.11.26362825},
url = {https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.11.26362825}
}
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