Improving physician awareness of Alzheimer disease and enhancing recruitment: the Clinician Partners Program

Abstract

Background: Primary care providers routinely evaluate older adults and are thus in a position to first detect symptoms and signs of Alzheimer disease. In urban areas, diagnostic or management difficulties may be referred to specialists; however, in rural areas, specialists may not be available. The Clinician Partners Program (CPP) was initiated to enhance rural health providers' ability in the diagnosis of dementia and care, and to increase research recruitment into dementia research studies of participants from rural communities.

Methods: The CPP is a 3-day "miniresidency" of didactic, observational, and skill-based teaching techniques. Participants completed pretests and posttests evaluating dementia knowledge, confidence in providing care, and practice behaviors.

Results: Between 2000 and 2009, 146 health care professionals with a mean age of 45.7±10.8 years attended the CPP; 79.2% were white, 58.2% were women, and 58% of participants had been in practice for more than 10 years. Posttests showed an improvement in knowledge and confidence for diagnosis and treatment and increased the use of dementia screening tools. Rural research participation in an urban Alzheimer Disease Research Center increased 52% over the pre-CPP period.

Conclusions: The following primary goals were accomplished: increased knowledge and confidence, changed practice habits, and enhanced research recruitment. Educational programs such as the CPP may be beneficial for increasing access to accurate diagnoses and appropriate treatment for Alzheimer disease while also enhancing research participation.

Figure 1

Percentage of New Research Participants from Rural Areas of Missouri in 5-Year Increments The bar graph presents the percentage of research participants from rural Missouri in five year increments representing 5-year funding cycles of the ADRC grant from the National Institutes of Health. From 1979 to 1999, only 6–8% of our research participants resided outside the metropolitan St Louis area. The black arrow represents the start of the Clinician Partner Program (CPP) in 2000, the only initiative undertaken by the ADRC to increase rural participation. Following initiation of the CPP, there was a 52% increase in research participants from rural areas of Missouri that has been maintained over the past 10 years.