You can view the webinar recording below. Supporting documents such as webinar slides, transcript, and additional resources are available to download by scrolling to the attachments section below.
Podcast:
This webinar is also available as podcast on SoundCloud and iTunes.
This webinar presents core competencies needed for the assessment and diagnosis of cognitive impairment in older adults. Common clinical case presentations of memory problems are subtle in onset, often with a lack of patient awareness, which can result in under-diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and a delay in care management. In addition, normal age-related changes in memory may be misdiagnosed as dementia. The prevalence of dementia in late life is age-related, increasing particularly after age 85. The different causes of dementia include vascular disease and Lewy body dementia, with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) the most common cause for late-life progressive cognitive decline. Primary care providers can, in most cases, accurately assess cognitive changes. The assessment process includes a careful history, physical examination, functional, cognitive, and social/economic assessments, and selected laboratory and radiological tests. Effectively communicating the diagnosis to patients and their family/caregivers is a critical part of the diagnostic process.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify at least three major causes of progressive dementias in older adults.
- Demonstrate knowledge of at least one tool used to assess cognitive functioning.
- Outline some key elements of a social assessment that may inform a comprehensive evaluation of dementia.
Webinar Presenters:
- Moderator: Carol Regan, Senior Advisor, Community Catalyst
- Chris Callahan, MD, Professor, Department of Medicine, Indiana University; Director of Indiana University Center for Aging Research
- Beth Galik, PhD, CRNP, Associate Professor, School of Nursing, University of Maryland; Robert Wood Johnson Nurse Faculty Scholar
- Irene Moore, MSW, LISW-S, Professor of Family and Community Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine