Influence of rurality on diagnosing dementia in Australian general practice

This article reviews the literature concerning barriers in making a diagnosis of dementia in general practice and examines these from a rural perspective. It is proposed that the increasing prevalence of dementia in coming years in Australia will be felt most keenly in rural communities where there are already shortages of GPs and dementia-specific services to manage growing demand. Evidence suggests that dementia is often not specifically diagnosed by GPs and that this is a global issue. There are many barriers to the diagnosis of dementia in general practice, including time constraints, diagnostic uncertainty, denial of symptoms by patients and families, and stigma. This review examines these barriers and their impact on making a dementia diagnosis from a rural general practice perspective. Identification of these practice issues and their influence on service delivery is essential to inform relevant policy decisions and to improve dementia management in rural general practice.