Screening of Dementia in Portuguese Primary Care: Methodology, Assessment Tools, and Main Results.

The objectives of this article are as follows: (1) to describe the assessment protocol used to outline people with probable dementia in Primary Health Care; (2) to show the methodological design and procedure to obtain a representative sample of patients with probable dementia; and (3) to report the main characteristics of the sample collected in the context of the study "Characteristics and needs of people with probable dementia." The study protocol was based on the "Community Assessment of Risk and Treatment Strategies (CARTS) Program" and is composed by a set of instruments that allow the assessment of older adults with probable dementia in several areas (health, psychological, functionality, and other). Descriptive analysis was used to characterize the final sample ( = 436).

Validation study of the Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly (CANE) in Portugal.

Background: The Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly (CANE) is widely used for multidimensional evaluation of older people with mental health problems. The aim of this study was to evaluate reliability and validity of a Portuguese version of CANE.

Method: A cross-sectional multicenter study was designed using a convenience sample of elderly mental health services' users.

Factors affecting timely recognition and diagnosis of dementia across Europe: from awareness to stigma.

Background: Timely recognition and diagnosis of dementia is the pre-condition for improving dementia care, but diagnosis often occurs late in the disease process.

Objective: To compare facilitators and obstacles to the timely recognition of dementia across eight European Union states, in order to implement established policies for earlier diagnosis.

Methods: A modified focus group technique, including a pre and posterior procedure.