If a person experiences memory changes or cognitive-related behavior and mood changes in older age, they often first ask their primary care physician for advice. But for that provider, recognizing signs of possible Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia and planning next steps for their patient is not a simple process. Researchers in the public health team at Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute are working to understand how to bring research advances and tools from memory clinics into the primary care environment.
In a manuscript published by Implementation Science Communications on May 30, 2025, Tamara LeCaire, MS, PhD, Art Walaszek, MD, Molly Schroeder, CSW, Tammi Albrecht, DNP, and colleagues of the public health team at Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute explored how to adapt an academic detailing educational program originally designed for memory clinics, aiming to make it more applicable to primary care settings. The intervention focused on improving care for individuals with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), a complex and often under-addressed aspect of dementia care.
The study involved qualitative interviews with clinicians who had either experience with the original program or were potential new users. The approach helped to identify several barriers with stakeholders; a separate manuscript highlighting these findings is forthcoming. One central theme that emerged was the importance of clinician self-efficacy—confidence in managing BPSD—which influenced perceptions of the intervention and informed necessary adaptations. Stakeholders identified several barriers, including time constraints, limited training, and systemic challenges, as well as possible positive factors for implementation such as peer support, accessible resources, and alignment with existing workflows. These insights were used to plan pre-implementation adaptations, tailoring the program’s content and delivery to better fit primary care settings.
The authors recommend steps to implementation in primary care:
- Greater use of implementation frameworks during intervention development to guide strategy selection and reporting.
- Improved documentation of how and why strategies are chosen and adapted.
- More rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of implementation strategies in diverse primary care settings.
Read more about the work of the WAI public health team’s education programs on the community health education webpage.