There are several excellent toolkits that review dementia screening, assessment, diagnosis, and management that may be suited for your practice. We list them here with information from the toolkit authors about its purpose.
-
The Alzheimer’s Project (San Diego)- Physician Guidelines 4th Edition (2024)
The Physician Guidelines Fourth Edition (June 2024) booklet includes revised screening and evaluation instruments recommendations, background research and references, best practices algorithms, and expanded resource tools for caregivers. The new edition expands information on caring for caregivers as well as assessing caregiver stress, provides updated community resources, and discusses FDA approved disease modifying medications. The Guidelines booklet is comprehensive, and providers are encouraged to download/print/use those pages most relevant to their practice. (Link to The Alzheimer's Porject)
-
The California Alzheimer's Disease Centers- Assessment of Cognitive Complaints Toolkit (2018)
This toolkit is designed to provide primary care providers with the tools necessary to recognize normal cognition, diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, and identify other cognitive problems requiring specialty referral. It differs from many other toolkits that have been published for this purpose because many of other toolkits focus on diagnosis of dementia but provide limited guidance on identifying the specific neurodegenerative disorder.
-
The BOLD Public Health Center of Excellence on Early Detection of Dementia - Early Detection of Dementia Toolkit – Health Systems (2024)
We hope this toolkit brings something of value to anyone who wants to learn about recognizing dementia in health care settings – outpatient clinics, hospitals, emergency departments, and other services. You may be someone who wants to know what dementia detection and diagnosis are about. You may be a community service worker advising clients at risk for dementia, a public health worker seeking a closer connection with a medical care provider, or a front-line clinician who wants to know why detection matters or improve your ability to work with people experiencing cognitive impairment. You might also be a person with current concerns or future worries about your own memory. This toolkit is designed to assist you in thinking about the value of early detection of dementia and how to develop an initial plan.
-
The Gerontological Society of America- KAER Toolkit for Brain Health (web-based, 2024)
This toolkit provides practical approaches, educational resources, and validated clinical tools to help primary care teams implement the KAER framework as part of their efforts to support brain health and timely detection of and responses to cognitive impairment. The contents and selection of tools were developed with primary care teams as the principal audience. Others, including educators and students in disciplines such as medicine, nursing, and social work, may also find its contents useful. GSA recognizes that health care professionals outside the primary care setting also play a valuable role in detecting cognitive impairment (Chodosh et al., 2019).