As a decision-making strategy, does accelerated triage for patients with severe dementia improve the process or outcomes of ED care?
How does ‘communication and decision-making’ differ for persons with dementia compared with persons without dementia (eg, obtaining information, ascertaining pain severity)?
How should presenting complaint, dementia severity, underlying frailty/vulnerability or other patient-level factors influence the ED communication strategy?
Are there specific medical communication strategies (such as ‘Teach Back’ or next day telephone follow-up) that improve the process or outcomes of ED care in persons with dementia?
Is safe, effective and efficient shared decision-making possible in persons with dementia or other cognitive impairment?
How frequently (and to what extent) do overlying sensory deficits (hearing impairment, vision problems) confound patient-physician communication during episodes of emergency care in persons with dementia?
Are members of the healthcare team (nurse, social worker, physician extenders, pharmacist and/or physicians) who receive specific training in how to communicate with and treat patients with dementia able to communicate more effectively with patients with dementia and their caregivers?
Do patients and care partners who are unaware of or seemingly in denial of a dementia diagnosis benefit from rapid referral for a second opinion to a dementia clinic?
What approaches are effective and accessible (considering health literacy needs, etc) for providing education to patients and caregivers in the ED about the diagnosis of dementia and accessible local resources in the community?
How can emergency medicine providers ascertain when the caregiver does or does not understand the patient’s baseline condition or vulnerability to stresses of illness or injury (or pharmacological interventions)?
When (and how) do emergency medicine providers seek additional details from caregiver?
What cognitive impairment diagnosis or findings should be communicated by ED providers to inpatient providers and primary care physicians regarding concerns about dementia?
What specific resources (home safety assessment, fall prevention, geropsych follow-up, social work abuse assessment, Alzheimer’s Association, etc) should be communicated (and how) to the patient and caregiver to improve quality of care and prevent future ED visits/hospitalisations?
What is the potential role(s) of observation units (short stay visits) in assisting communication and medical decision-making in dementia care? Could they reduce the number of ED visits and/or the time patients stay in the ED?
How can lack of cultural understanding by ED healthcare providers limit alignment of communication of options and ascertaining comprehension of options?
How do patients’ cultural differences influence how dementia resources may be accepted, available and/or followed and how should communication strategies differ among various populations that come to the ED to acknowledge these differences?
How does the presence of dementia interact with inequities in emergency medicine healthcare delivery?
