Dyer Suzanne M, Gnanamanickam Emmanuel S, Liu Enwu, Whitehead Craig, Crotty Maria
Department of Rehabilitation Aged and Extended Care, Flinders Medical Centre, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Cognitive Decline Partnership Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Australas J Ageing. 2018 Dec;37(4):E155-E158. doi: 10.1111/ajag.12580. Epub 2018 Sep 6.
To examine the cognitive status of Australians living in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) and whether or not a dementia diagnosis was recorded.
Cross-sectional study of 541 residents of 17 RACFs spanning four states. Examination of cognitive status by Psychogeriatric Assessment Scale Cognitive Impairment Scale (PAS-Cog) and dementia diagnosis from medical records.
The study population included 65% of residents with a diagnosis of dementia recorded, and 83% had a PAS-Cog score of four or more indicating likely cognitive impairment. More than 20% of participants had likely cognitive impairment (PAS-Cog ≥4), but no diagnosis of dementia; 11% had moderate-to-severe cognitive impairment (PAS-Cog ≥10) but no recorded dementia diagnosis.
There may be a lack of formal diagnosis of dementia in Australian RACFs. Greater efforts from all health professionals to improve diagnosis in this setting are required. This is an opportunity for improved person-centred care and quality of care in this vulnerable population.
调查居住在老年护理机构（RACFs）中的澳大利亚人的认知状况，以及是否记录了痴呆症诊断。
对来自四个州的17家RACFs的541名居民进行横断面研究。通过老年精神科评估量表认知障碍量表（PAS-Cog）检查认知状况，并从医疗记录中获取痴呆症诊断。
研究人群中，65%的居民有痴呆症诊断记录，83%的居民PAS-Cog评分为4分或更高，表明可能存在认知障碍。超过20%的参与者可能存在认知障碍（PAS-Cog≥4），但未诊断出痴呆症；11%的参与者有中度至重度认知障碍（PAS-Cog≥10），但没有记录痴呆症诊断。
澳大利亚RACFs中可能缺乏痴呆症的正式诊断。所有卫生专业人员需要做出更大努力，以改善这种情况下的诊断。这是改善这一弱势群体以患者为中心的护理和护理质量的一个契机。
