None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This project follows a pilot project conducted in 2007 measuring the effect of the interventions of education and audit feedback on GP detection of dementia in their at risk practice population. The current trial tests the impact of an educational workshop on GP dementia guidelines and audit feedback of the number of documented dementia diagnoses in the patient population aged over 65 years seen in the two 6 month periods before and after commencement of the trial. The rationale is that documentation of this diagnosis in general practice is suboptimal but is necessary if dementia patients are to access appropriate support and treatments. GPs are recruited from practices in North Queensland and clustered according to practice location. Clusters are randomly assigned to one of four groups: interventions of educational workshop, audit feedback, educational workshop plus audit feedback, or control (usual practice). At the end of the trial all GPs are offered audit and educational workshops which enables them to receive 40 category 1 professional development points.
Interventions
1. Educational workshop with pre- reading and reflection using the Royal Australian College of General Practitioner's (RACGP) learning module 'General Practitioners caring for people with dementia' based on RACGP dementia guidelines 'Care of patients with dementia in general practice'. Each geographic 'cluster' is offered the workshop at a time and date convenient to researcher and participants. The 2 hour workshop is delivered by the researcher, a GP Fellow of RACGP, using a powerpoint present
1. Educational workshop with pre- reading and reflection using the Royal Australian College of General Practitioner's (RACGP) learning module 'General Practitioners caring for people with dementia' based on RACGP dementia guidelines 'Care of patients with dementia in general practice'. Each geographic 'cluster' is offered the workshop at a time and date convenient to researcher and participants. The 2 hour workshop is delivered by the researcher, a GP Fellow of RACGP, using a powerpoint presentation supplied by RACGP as part of their learning module. 2. Audit feedback: An audit is conducted for each participating GP at 0 and 6 months using the built in search engine in their electronic medical records. The researcher (a GP), undertakes the audit or supports a member of staff to to do the task. GPs randomized to audit feedback can conduct their own audit if they wish. Each GP has their own chart in which data is recorded, consisting of the number of patients >65 years consulting in 2x6month periods before and after the trial commences and the number of dementia diagnoses documented in each of these 2 patient samples. This data provides both an intervention and the outcome measure. The results are shared at the beginning of the trial with GPs randomized to audit intervention and at the workshop for GPs randomized to education plus audit.
Sponsors
James Cook University
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Educational / counselling / training
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
0 to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
1. Practicing general practitioner consulting with patients aged over 65 years 2. Consent to provide audit data of number of patients aged over 65 years consulting during trial periods and the number of documented dementia diagnoses in these active patients
Exclusion criteria
1. General practitioners with changing patient populations. eg, moving practice during the trial
Outcome results
None listed