Timeliness of a dementia diagnosis during an acute hospital admission
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The timeliness of receiving a dementia diagnosis during an acute hospital admission: exploring the perceptions of people with dementia and their carers.
IRAS ID
208826
Contact name
Michelle J Parker
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
City, University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 31 days
Research summary
People with dementia often delay seeking help when they first notice problems with their memory and this can result in a formal diagnosis of dementia being made late in the disease process. There is much focus on encouraging early diagnosis of dementia at present and acute hospitals are encouraged to identify patients who may be showing signs of dementia. But we do not know if receiving a diagnosis of dementia during an acute hospital admission for an unrelated problem comes at the right time for the person diagnosed with dementia and their carer.
To explore the timeliness and meaning of receiving a dementia diagnosis during an acute hospital admission, 5-6 people who have been diagnosed during an acute hospital admission and 5-6 carers of people who have been diagnosed during a hospital admission will be interviewed twice. The first interview will be in the first few weeks after discharge from hospital, to explore whether the diagnosis has come at the right time for them and why they had not sought help prior to their admission. The second interview will be 3-6 months later, to see if their thoughts about the diagnosis have changed and whether it could be considered timely or not. The interviews will be analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis.
Understanding the process people go through when deciding whether or not to seek help for signs of dementia and the timeliness of a diagnosis when you are not seeking help, could help us in future to support people to access help that leads to a diagnosis at the right time for them. This may mean improving access to services so that people can seek help earlier in the disease process or by providing alternative support for the person until they are ready to be assessed and receive a diagnosis.REC name
London - Camberwell St Giles Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/LO/1925
Date of REC Opinion
16 Jan 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion