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Dementia care management in primary care practices: a descriptive study among nurse practitioners
Lusine Poghosyan, Maura Dougherty, Grant R. Martsolf, Kyle G. Featherston, Joshua Porat‐Dahlerbruch, Soo Borson, Tatiana I. Sadak, S. C. Wang et al.. BMC Family Practice, 2025-05-15
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
NPs reported that the quality of dementia care in their practices is poorer than the overall care provided. About 45% of NPs indicated that dementia care in their practices is less than "very good," while only 17% reported that the overall care delivered falls below that standard. Additionally, NPs reported significant deficits in practice structural capabilities for dementia care and challenges with administration within their organization. The findings show that over a third of NPs report burnout. Given the projected growth in the number of patients with dementia and the growing workforce of NPs worldwide, policy and practice efforts should be directed toward strengthening primary care practices to provide quality care for dementia patients. Bolstering NP workforce capacity and supporting NP roles in dementia care could improve organizational capacity to provide dementia care. However, widespread burnout among NPs found in our study could undermine their contribution to the dementia care workforce.
Key findings
- NPs reported that the quality of dementia care in their practices is poorer than the overall care provided.
- About 45% of NPs indicated that dementia care in their practices is less than "very good," while only 17% reported that the overall care delivered falls below that standard.
- Additionally, NPs reported significant deficits in practice structural capabilities for dementia care and challenges with administration within their organization.
- The findings show that over a third of NPs report burnout.
- Given the projected growth in the number of patients with dementia and the growing workforce of NPs worldwide, policy and practice efforts should be directed toward strengthening primary care practices to provide quality care for dementia patients.
Why it matters
This cross-sectional survey found that nurse practitioners rated dementia care in their primary care practices as poorer than overall care, with significant gaps in structural capabilities and over a third reporting burnout. It describes problems in care delivery rather than testing any treatment, cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Effect size36.4%
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for sample size, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (BMC Family Practice) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | BMC Family Practice: journal h-index 128 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in time |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 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 | 2 / 7 | Cited 5 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.7 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 5 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Monica O’Reilly-Jacob: h-index 12 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Yale University: institution h-index 1,927 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40375125) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1186/s12875-025-02855-5
- PubMed: 40375125
- Original source →
- Free full text: BMC Family Practice →
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
Poghosyan, L., Dougherty, M., Martsolf, G. R., Featherston, K. G., Porat‐Dahlerbruch, J., Borson, S., et al. (2025). Dementia care management in primary care practices: a descriptive study among nurse practitioners. BMC Family Practice. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-025-02855-5
Vancouver
Poghosyan L, Dougherty M, Martsolf GR, Featherston KG, Porat‐Dahlerbruch J, Borson S, et al. Dementia care management in primary care practices: a descriptive study among nurse practitioners. BMC Family Practice. 2025. doi:10.1186/s12875-025-02855-5. PMID: 40375125.
BibTeX
@article{poghosyan2025-40375125,
author = {Poghosyan, Lusine and Dougherty, Maura and Martsolf, Grant R. and Featherston, Kyle G. and Porat‐Dahlerbruch, Joshua and Borson, Soo and Sadak, Tatiana I. and Wang, S. C. and others},
title = {{Dementia care management in primary care practices: a descriptive study among nurse practitioners}},
journal = {BMC Family Practice},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1186/s12875-025-02855-5},
pmid = {40375125},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-025-02855-5}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.