Tasmanian Professor says GP dementia knowledge generally lacking

Meanwhile, widespread community stigma for the condition impacts those living with dementia who may fail to accept their diagnosis, keep it hidden from family and friends and refuse treatment because of fear or shame.

Dementia affects one in 10 Australians over the age of 35, and 3 in 10 over the age of 85, with Tasmania at risk of developing higher rates of dementia due to its older and ageing population.

Hospitals are experiencing growth in the number of older people arriving into care with both diagnosed and un-diagnosed dementia.

As a result, the chances of every Tasmanian being impacted either directly or indirectly by dementia are high and yet devastating stigma around the fatal syndrome continues to exist in the community.

Wicking Dementia and Education Resource Centre director James Vickers said raising awareness about dementia, reducing stigma, and improving the quality of care for dementia patients was critical.

He said dementia was being introduced into university undergraduate course curriculums to improve knowledge of the syndrome, "which will hopefully have good flow on effect".

But he said GP knowledge of dementia remained inconsistent across the state.

Professor Vickers said dementia knowledge research showed that "by and large, GP's do not have the knowledge about ...dementia that perhaps the community might expect".

He said this was due to a lack of quality dementia training, Medicare funding and "diagnostic nihilism".

"Knowledge can be quite variable between GPs, a lot of that is down to training and the extent to which they have learnt about dementia as medical students, and through to what they experience as GPs in training," Professor Vickers said.

"One reason is related to Medicare funding...you really need to spend time with a person and their family, the diagnosis is not going to be quick and there aren't any Medicare funding items that specifically relate to getting a diagnosis or supporting someone with dementia, so it is one that is a bit tricky for GPs," he said.

"[It is also] fair to say that they may have what we call diagnostic nihilism. They don't have at their fingertips a drug or intervention that they can provide, so they might not put a lot of value in providing or supporting a diagnosis."

Professor Vickers said this nihilism was changing over time, due to human rights values being applied to dementia.

"It really is a human right to get a diagnosis in the same way you have with any other serious health condition," he said.

Freelance dementia consultant Tim England said public awareness and understanding of the condition remained low, which contributed to the cultural stigma.

He said "everyone will be touched by dementia in some way in the next five years".

He added that those with dementia may be incorrectly viewed as senile, or are seen as having something wrong with them, and stressed that this was not the case.

"They are still the same person that they were before the diagnosis...they haven't changed, they just need a bit more understanding," Mr England said.

"Stigma tends to stop people seeking treatment because they are are afraid or ashamed, or it stops them from receiving any diagnosis at all...it prevents people from living their best quality of life, stops them making plans for the future, and stops them from developing support networks around them," he said.

"It also prevents them from joining clinical trials, which is so important for current and future research, not just for treatment, but for prevention."

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