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American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias logoLink to American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias
. 2011 Mar;26(2):127–133. doi: 10.1177/1533317510394648

Knowledge of Documented Dementia Diagnosis and Treatment in Veterans and Their Caregivers

Andrea Bradford 1, Christina Upchurch 2, David Bass 3, Katherine Judge 4, A Lynn Snow 5, Nancy Wilson 6, Mark E Kunik 7
PMCID: PMC10845555  PMID: 21273206

Abstract

We studied perceptions of dementia diagnosis and treatment in patient-caregiver dyads enrolled in a care coordination intervention trial for veterans with dementia. We compared patient and caregiver perceptions of diagnosis and treatment to information in the medical record and assessed concordance between patient and caregiver perceptions. Data were derived from medical record abstraction and structured interviews with 132 patients and 183 caregivers. Most caregivers, but only about one fourth of patients, reported having received information about a diagnosis related to memory loss. Caregivers were more accurate than patients in recalling the patient’s use of memory-enhancing medications. Within dyads there was poor agreement regarding a diagnosis of dementia. Our findings suggest that there is substantial room for improvement in disclosure and education of dementia diagnosis, especially at the level of the patient-caregiver dyad.

Keywords: dementia, diagnosis, self-report, veterans

Full Text

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Contributor Information

Andrea Bradford, Houston Center for Quality of Care & Utilization Studies, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.

Christina Upchurch, Houston Center for Quality of Care & Utilization Studies, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA.

David Bass, Margaret Blenkner Research Institute, Benjamin Rose, Cleveland, OH, USA.

Katherine Judge, Margaret Blenkner Research Institute, Benjamin Rose, Cleveland, OH, USA, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, USA.

A. Lynn Snow, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA, Tuscaloosa Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA.

Nancy Wilson, Houston Center for Quality of Care & Utilization Studies, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.

Mark E. Kunik, Houston Center for Quality of Care & Utilization Studies, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA, VA South Central Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Houston, TX, USA, mkunik@bcm.edu .

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