Challenges to screening and evaluation of memory impairment among Hispanic elders in a primary care safety net facility.

Summary of "Challenges to screening and evaluation of memory impairment among Hispanic elders in a primary care safety net facility."

OBJECTIVE:
Implement a memory impairment screening procedure for elderly Hispanic primary care patients, and analyze its yield and challenges to further triage and diagnostic evaluation.
METHODS:
Three hundred twenty nine Hispanic patients aged >/=60 years or proxy informants were enrolled from outpatient primary care clinics at an urban safety-net medical center. Patients were screened for memory impairment using the WHO-UCLA AVLT; for those without consent capacity, proxies were given the IQCODE. Bilingual research assistants conducted in-person or telephone screening. Age, gender, education, comorbidities, acculturation, overall health, access to care, and memory concerns were assessed as potential predictors of memory impairment. Based on identified implementation challenges, a multi-disciplinary stakeholder committee proposed revised approaches to increase diagnostic evaluation and sustainability.
RESULTS:
Of 677 eligible patients approached, 329 (49%) were screened, and 77 (23%) met criteria for memory impairment using the WHO-UCLA AVLT (N = 60) or the IQCODE (N = 17). Only male gender and higher comorbidity uniquely predicted memory impairment (ps < 0.05). Few screen-positive patients declined further triage and evaluation, but a substantial proportion could not be subsequently contacted. Challenges to implementing a memory screening program included staff time and adequate clinic space for in-person screening; challenges to follow-up of positive screening results included inability to contact patients and lack of primary care continuity to facilitate further triage and referral.
CONCLUSIONS:
Nearly one-fourth of primary care Hispanic elders screened as memory-impaired, but few factors predicted positive screening. Stakeholder-guided adaptations are needed-particularly in resource-constrained settings-to overcome challenges to further diagnostic evaluation and referral. Copyright (c) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Affiliation

Department of Neurology, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Journal Details

This article was published in the following journal.

Name: International journal of geriatric psychiatry
ISSN: 1099-1166
Pages:

Links

• PubMed Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20629169
• DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/gps.2524