Team-Based Interprofessional Competency Training for Dementia Screening and Management.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Medical Education
• Interprofessional Healthcare

Background:

• A significant gap exists in dementia diagnosis, with up to 50% of eligible individuals remaining undiagnosed.
• Effective dementia care requires collaboration among multiple healthcare professions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a team-based interprofessional competency training program for dementia screening and management.
• To enhance the skills of medical, nursing, pharmacy, and social work practitioners in dementia care.

Main Methods:

• An interprofessional faculty team developed and facilitated four competency stations: dementia screening, differential diagnoses, management/care planning, and caregiver stress.
• 117 professionals were organized into interprofessional teams and rotated through the stations.
• Competency and confidence were assessed pre- and post-training, with follow-up surveys on practice changes.

Main Results:

• Participants showed significant improvements in overall competence (avg. change 1.12), screening awareness (avg. change 0.85), and medication management confidence (avg. change 0.86).
• 82.9% felt confident using the dementia toolkit post-training.
• Follow-up surveys revealed practice changes in Mini-Cog administration (78%), differential diagnosis (49%), caregiver stress assessment (74%), and service access (69%).

Conclusions:

• Team-based interprofessional competency training is an effective model for enhancing dementia care skills.
• The program successfully improved practitioners' abilities in dementia screening, assessment, and management.
• This collaborative training approach positively impacts clinical practice and patient care.