Primary health care

Aim: Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia are often managed inappropriately with antipsychotic medicines. The TOP 5 program, which involves recording up to five relevant and meaningful tips that assist in personalizing care for the person with dementia, has been tested in the hospital setting and transitions of care in Australia, and has been found to be useful. Our study aimed to adapt the TOP 5 program as a strategy to support people with dementia in a primary care setting and to test the acceptability of our adapted TOP 5 program materials.

Introduction: Community Based Primary Health Care (CBPHC) is positioned as the foundation of integrated health systems, intended to support broader goals of population health and health system sustainability. CBPHC moves beyond traditional primary care (a physician visit) to team based care that spans organizational boundaries (such as primary care clinics + community care services).

This second article on family care-givers will focus on how healthcare assistants (HCAs) can support such care-givers within a variety of care settings, including GP practices, healthcare centres, hospital departments, hospital wards and in the care-giver's own home. Suggestions for training of HCAs who are likely to work with family care-givers will be proposed.

This review considers key areas in primary care regarding the diagnosis of dementia. Issues surrounding assessment, policy and incentives are considered. In addition, the relevance of non-medication approaches for dementia in primary care, which aim to enhance or maintain quality of life by maximising psychological and social function in the context of existing disabilities, is deliberated.

A researcher who conducted a study on the experiences of informal carers of terminally ill patients had difficulty gaining access to participants. In many cases this was because nurses would not refer them to the researcher without the permission of a doctor.