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General practitioners' knowledge, confidence and attitudes in the diagnosis and management of dementia
Turner S, Iliffe S, Downs M, Wilcock J, Bryans M, Levin E, Keady J, O'Carroll R.. Age and ageing, 2004-07-22
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objective To measure general practitioners' knowledge of, confidence with and attitudes to the diagnosis and management of dementia in primary care. Setting 20 general practices of varying size and prior research experience in Central Scotland, and 16 similarly varied practices in north London. Participants 127 general practitioners who had volunteered to join a randomised controlled trial of educational interventions about dementia diagnosis and management. Methods Self-completion questionnaires covering knowledge, confidence and attitudes were retrieved from practitioners prior to the educational interventions. Results General practitioners' knowledge of dementia diagnosis and management is good, but poor awareness of its epidemiology leads to an over-estimate of caseload. Knowledge of local diagnostic and support services is less good, and one third of general practitioners expressed limited confidence in their diagnostic skills, whilst two-thirds lacked confidence in management of behaviour and other problems in dementia. The main difficulties identified by general practitioners were talking with patients about the diagnosis, responding to behaviour problems and coordinating support services. General practitioners perceived lack of time and lack of social services support as the major obstacles to good quality care more often than they identified their own unfamiliarity with current management or with local resources. Attitudes to the disclosure of the diagnosis, and to the potential for improving the quality of life of patients and carers varied, but a third of general practitioners believed that dementia care is within a specialist's domain, not that of general practice. More experienced and male general practitioners were more pessimistic about dementia care, as were general practitioners with lower knowledge about dementia. Those reporting greater difficulty with dementia diagnosis and management and those with lower knowledge scores were also less likely to express attitudes endorsing open communication with patient and carer. Conclusion Educational support for general practitioners should concentrate on epidemiological knowledge, disclosure of the diagnosis and management of behaviour problems in dementia. The availability and profile of support services, particularly social care, need to be enhanced, if earlier diagnosis is to be pursued as a policy objective in primary care.
Key findings
- Results General practitioners' knowledge of dementia diagnosis and management is good, but poor awareness of its epidemiology leads to an over-estimate of caseload.
Why it matters
This survey of 127 general practitioners found their knowledge of dementia diagnosis and management was good, but many lacked confidence in managing behavior and other problems and in coordinating support services. It is about doctors' knowledge and attitudes, not about treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Study designrandomized controlled trial
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 65/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for sample size and effect reported because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Age and ageing) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Age and Ageing: journal h-index 231 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2004 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| Randomised / blinded | 1 / 2 | Randomised (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 376 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 15.7 citations a year over 24 year(s) since 2004 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 6 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 29 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Ronan E. O’Carroll: h-index 69 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University College London: institution h-index 2,029 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | PubMed indexes it as a multicentre study |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 15271637) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 65 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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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 names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Turner, S., Iliffe, S., Downs, M., Wilcock, J., Bryans, M., Levin, E., et al. (2004). General practitioners' knowledge, confidence and attitudes in the diagnosis and management of dementia. Age and ageing. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afh140
Vancouver
Turner S, Iliffe S, Downs M, Wilcock J, Bryans M, Levin E, et al. General practitioners' knowledge, confidence and attitudes in the diagnosis and management of dementia. Age and ageing. 2004. doi:10.1093/ageing/afh140. PMID: 15271637.
BibTeX
@article{turner2004-15271637,
author = {Turner, S. and Iliffe, S. and Downs, M. and Wilcock, J. and Bryans, M. and Levin, E. and Keady, J. and O'Carroll, R.},
title = {{General practitioners' knowledge, confidence and attitudes in the diagnosis and management of dementia}},
journal = {Age and ageing},
year = {2004},
doi = {10.1093/ageing/afh140},
pmid = {15271637},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afh140}
}
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