A review of interprofessional dissemination and education interventions for recognizing and managing dementia

The number of individuals with dementia is expected to increase dramatically over the next 20 years. Given the complicated clinical, sociobehavioral, and caregiving skills that are needed to comprehensively assess and manage individuals with dementia, the gold standard of care requires involvement of interprofessional teams. This systematic review examined 4,023 abstracts, finding 18 articles from 16 studies where an interprofessional dissemination program was performed. Most studies found some improvement in clinician knowledge or confidence, or patient outcomes, though methods and patient and clinician populations were disparate. Although a significant evidence base for assessing and managing individuals with dementia has been developed, few studies have examined how to disseminate this research, and even fewer in an interprofessional manner. These findings suggest that greater emphasis needs to be placed on disseminating existing evidence-based care and ensuring that programs are interprofessional in nature so that excellent, patient-centered care is provided.