Home › Research › Disparities
The attitudes and practices of general practitioners regarding dementia diagnosis in Ireland
Cahill S, Clark M, O'Connell H, Lawlor B, Coen RF, Walsh C.. International journal of geriatric psychiatry, 2008-07-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background The diagnosis of dementia poses difficulties for general practitioners (GPs) particularly when access to specialist diagnostic services is delayed. Ireland is soon to witness an increase in numbers of people presenting with dementia, yet little is known about the service needs of GPs when attempting to diagnose dementia. Objectives To detail the service needs of GPs, especially their training needs, access to diagnostic resources such as CT and MRI brain scans and access to specialist services such as Old Age Psychiatry (OAP), Geriatric Medicine (GM) and Neuropsychology (NP). Methods The paper is based on survey data collected from a sample of GPs (n = 300) registered with the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) and on qualitative data collected from a Focus Group (n = 7). Results GPs were more likely to blame themselves than either the health care system, their patients or family members for the late presentation of dementia in primary care. Stigma was a major obstacle preventing GPs from being more proactive in this area. Rural GPs felt geographically disadvantaged accessing diagnostic services and both rural and urban GPs experienced considerable time delays accessing specialist diagnostic services. Conclusions Findings provide compelling evidence that training and access to diagnostic services are only two of several different structural and ideological obstacles that GPs encounter when attempting to diagnose dementia. Future educational supports for GPs need to be developed which concentrate on these areas.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Cahill, S., Clark, M., O'Connell, H., Lawlor, B., Coen, R. F., & Walsh, C. (2008). The attitudes and practices of general practitioners regarding dementia diagnosis in Ireland. International journal of geriatric psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.1956
Vancouver
Cahill S, Clark M, O'Connell H, Lawlor B, Coen RF, Walsh C. The attitudes and practices of general practitioners regarding dementia diagnosis in Ireland. International journal of geriatric psychiatry. 2008. doi:10.1002/gps.1956. PMID: 18229882.
BibTeX
@article{cahill2008-18229882,
author = {Cahill, S. and Clark, M. and O'Connell, H. and Lawlor, B. and Coen, R. F. and Walsh, C.},
title = {{The attitudes and practices of general practitioners regarding dementia diagnosis in Ireland}},
journal = {International journal of geriatric psychiatry},
year = {2008},
doi = {10.1002/gps.1956},
pmid = {18229882},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.1956}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Results GPs were more likely to blame themselves than either the health care system, their patients or family members for the late presentation of dementia in primary care.
Why it matters
General practitioners in Ireland reported blaming themselves for late dementia diagnosis and said stigma, long waits, and poor rural access to scans and specialists were obstacles. This points to training and better access to diagnostic services as practical needs, not to any new treatment or cure.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Disparities →
Study details
- Participants300
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 46/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (International journal of geriatric psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: journal h-index 190 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| 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 | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2008 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 300 participants |
| 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 (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 144 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 7.2 citations a year over 20 year(s) since 2008 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 5.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 11 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Cathal Walsh: h-index 56 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Trinity College Dublin: institution h-index 926 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 18229882) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 46 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
Later studies that cite this one
3 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.
Related studies in Disparities
Also tagged “prevalence”
1,224 studies in the library carry the topic tag “prevalence”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,224 tagged studies.