[Analysis of the personnel development in anesthesiology over the last two decades with special attention to gender aspects]. / Eine Analyse der Personalentwicklung in der Anästhesiologie unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von Gender-Aspekten.

Skills shortage of nursing staff and physicians is a "hot topic" in health politics. For the future recruitment of medical staff in anesthesiology, an analysis of the staff development during the last decades considering gender aspects seems to be important. Therefore, the authors conducted a comparative analysis of data from the "Statistisches Bundesamt" (Fachserie 12 Reihe 7.3.1 and Fachserie 12 Reihe 6.1.1.) from 1994 until 2015. The analysis compared the development of anesthesiological staff (physicians) with the overall development of medical staff (physicians) in respect of the number of residents, consultants and department chairs. There are two major differences between the development of medical staff in anesthesiology and the overall development of medical staff: (1) in anesthesiology there is a high percentage of consultants without management tasks, (2) though the percentage of female colleagues is increasing both in anesthesiology and overall, the percentage of female colleagues in management or chair positions is lower in anesthesiology compared to the other disciplines, altogether. Anesthesiology is a discipline in which both the number of tasks and personnel have risen over the last two decades. The comparatively huge increase in the number of residents and consultants without management tasks suggests that the number of tasks in daily routine has substantially increased for anesthesiologists. The comparatively low percentage of female colleagues in chair positions should give an impulse to improve the compatibility of family and working live both for clinical and scientific careers.

Longitudinal Analysis of Outpatient Physician Visits in the Oldest Old: Results of the AgeQualiDe Prospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to identify determinants of outpatient health care utilization among the oldest old in Germany longitudinally. DESIGN: Multicenter prospective cohort "Study on Needs, health service use, costs and health-related quality of life in a large sample of oldest-old primary care patients (85+)" (AgeQualiDe). SETTING: Individuals in very old age were recruited via GP offices at six study centers in Germany. The course of outpatient health care was observed over 10 months (two waves). PARTICIPANTS: Primary care patients aged 85 years and over (at baseline: n=861, with mean age of 89.0 years±2.9 years; 85-100 years). MEASUREMENTS: Self-reported numbers of outpatient visits to general practitioners (GP) and specialists in the past three months were used as dependent variables. Widely used scales were used to quantify explanatory variables (e.g., Geriatric Depression Scale, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale, or Global Deterioration Scale). RESULTS: Fixed effects regressions showed that increases in GP visits were associated with increases in cognitive impairment, whereas they were not associated with changes in marital status, functional decline, increasing number of chronic conditions, increasing age, and changes in social network. Increases in specialist visits were not associated with changes in the explanatory variables. CONCLUSION: Our findings underline the importance of cognitive impairment for GP visits. Creating strategies to postpone cognitive decline might be beneficial for the health care system.

[Informal care for dementia according to type of service]. / Informelle Pflege bei Demenz nach Leistungsarten.

BACKGROUND: Dementia is a major challenge for society and its impact will grow in the future. Informal care is an essential part of dementia care. Previous studies considered informal care as a whole and not by its components. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess the degree of association between specific informal care services and dementia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This analysis is based on data from the seventh wave of the AgeCoDe/AgeQualiDe study. Dementia was diagnosed based on the DSM-IV criteria. Severity of dementia was assessed and categorized by means of the Clinical Dementia Rating and eight individual informal care services were considered. Logistic regression models were used to assess associations. RESULTS: Of the 864 participants 18% suffered from dementia (very mild: 4%; mild: 6%; moderate: 5%; severe: 3%). All informal care services were significantly associated with dementia, with an emphasis on "supervision", "regulation of financial matters" and "assistance in the intake of medication". Considering different degrees of dementia severity, similar results arose from the analyses. All three aforementioned services showed a pronounced association with all degrees of dementia severity, except for supervision and very mild dementia. CONCLUSION: The provision of all types of informal care services is associated with dementia. The association is pronounced for services that can be more easily integrated into the daily routines of the informal caregiver. Policy makers who plan to integrate informal care into the general care arrangements for dementia should consider this.

[Quo vadis Therapeutic Health Care Professionals--What do Occupational and Physical Therapists Think about their Future? Results of a Survey throughout Germany]. / Quo vadis Therapieberufe--wie sehen Physio- und Ergotherapeuten die Zukunft ihrer Berufe? Ergebnisse einer deutschlandweiten Befragung.

BACKGROUND: The introduction of occupational and physical therapy as academic disciplines is evidence of radical changes in the therapeutic health care professions. Therapists' professional associations are planning and negotiating both with health insurance companies and with other branches of the health care professions concerning future spheres of activity. In order to find out what the therapists in these professions think about their future, we conducted a survey of physical and occupational therapists through-out Germany. Our findings regarding professional life, job satisfaction, competition and cooperation have already been published. This article presents therapists' assessments of the future of their professions. METHOD: From May until December 2008 we performed a cross-sectional survey, interviewing physical and occupational therapists throughout Germany. Statements were answered on a 6-step Likert scale; open questions were answered in free-text fields. The evaluation was performed quantitatively; the free texts were also evaluated qualitatively. RESULTS: A total of 3,506 questionnaires were evaluated; 1,273 were completed by occupational therapists and 2,233 by physical therapists. Nearly half of the therapists (n=1,687; 48.4%) used the opportunity to emphasise the need for change. We identified 4,026 statements about 8 general topics: remuneration, employee co-determination, professional recognition, continuing education, cooperation, initial access to the professions, and their academic status. Therapists illustrated certain items in the questionnaire with examples from their professional experience, suggested additional topics, and proposed concrete changes. We document a broad range of opinions and concerns, especially in regard to such subjects concerning the future of the professions as their new academic status and initial access. CONCLUSION: Physical and occupational therapists are concerned about the future development of their professions. They see a need for change in the following areas: remuneration, employee co-determination, initial access and cooperation as well as in the development of their profession as an academic discipline. Policy makers need to heed therapists' assessments of the state of their professions and their calls for its increased professionalisation.

[Morbidity differences according to nursing stage and nursing setting in long-term care patients: Results of a claims data based study]. / Morbiditätsunterschiede bei Pflegebedürftigen in Abhängigkeit von Pflegesektor und Pflegestufe: Eine Untersuchung auf der Basis von Abrechnungsdaten der Gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung.

BACKGROUND: We analyzed the differences in morbidity patterns of chronic diseases between long-term care dependent persons in nursing homes compared to those dwelling in the community. We also investigated morbidity differences between long-term care need stages in Germany. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included claims data of one nationwide operating statutory health insurance in 2006. Inclusion criteria were age ≥ 65 years, minimum 1 out of 46 diagnoses in at least 3 quarters of the year (n = 8,670). A comparison population was formed with n = 114,962. Prevalences, relative risks, and odds ratios for the risk of nursing home care were calculated. RESULTS: In the bivariate analysis, only three chronic diseases - dementia, urinary incontinence, and chronic heart failure - showed a higher risk for nursing home care. Regression analysis revealed that only dementia showed higher odds related to the stage of nursing needs. CONCLUSION: Among the chronic diseases, only dementia shows a substantially elevated risk for nursing home care. Risk studies on other chronic diseases associated with higher risks of long-term care dependency and specific intervention strategies aiming at delaying or preventing nursing home admission should be developed.

[Stability of long-term professional objectives of young physicians during postgraduate training. Results of a multicenter cohort study]. / Stabilität der beruflichen Endziele im Verlauf der fachärztlichen Weiterbildung. Ergebnisse einer multizentrischen Kohortenstudie mit zweijährigem Intervall.

INTRODUCTION: We investigated persistences and changes of career preferences of medical residents in Germany after two years of postgraduate training with regard to future working place and position. The results are compared with those forwarded at graduation from medical school in a gender comparative perspective. METHODS: The study is based on a standardized postal survey among the participants in the "KarMed" study, originally based on 1012 graduates of the medical faculties of Erlangen, Giessen, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Cologne, Leipzig and Magdeburg in 2009. 2107 persons were contacted. The return rate at baseline was 48 %, and the two surveys after the baseline reached return rates of 87 % and 89 % respectively. In all samples 2/3 were women as in actual medical undergraduate education. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were performed. RESULTS: After 2 years of residency, residents after 2 years of postgraduate training still preferred the hospital over private practice as their final workplace after postgraduate training. The attractiveness of leading positions in the hospital declined among men, whereas it was already low for women at graduation. A large proportion of those physicians preferring the ambulatory sector, especially women, wishes to work as employee instead of private practice. At the personal level, almost 60 % forwarded the same preferences as those at graduation. Gender, parenthood and region of study (East vs. West Germany) did not influence stability or change of preferences. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate the persistence of professional preferences regarding future sector and position of medical work during postgraduate training. These preferences do neither match with principles of gender equality nor with future workforce needs (e. g. in primary care).

[Use and potential risks of over-the-counter analgesics]. / Gebrauch und potenzielle Risiken durch nicht verschreibungspflichtige Schmerzmittel.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: We investigated the use of prescription and non-prescription (over-the-counter, OTC) analgesics and the associated risks in elderly patients with multiple morbidities. METHODS: Pain medication use was evaluated from the baseline data (2008/2009) of the MultiCare cohort enrolling elderly patients with multiple morbidities who were treated by primary care physicians (trial registration: ISRCTN89818205). We considered opioids (N02A), other analgesics, and antipyretics (N02B) as well as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs; M01A). OTC use, duplicate prescription, dosages, and interactions were examined for acetylsalicylic acid, diclofenac, (dex)ibuprofen, naproxen, and acetaminophen. RESULTS: Of 3,189 patients with multiple morbidities aged 65-85 years, 1,170 patients reported to have taken at least one prescription or non-prescription analgesic within the last 3 months (36.7 %). Of these, 289 patients (24.7 % of 1,170) took at least one OTC analgesic. Duplicate prescription was observed in 86 cases; 15 of these cases took the analgesics regularly. In two cases, the maximum daily dose of diclofenac was exceeded due to duplicate prescription. In 235 cases, patients concurrently took a drug with a potentially clinically relevant interaction. In 43 cases (18.3 % of 235) an OTC analgesic, usually ibuprofen, was involved. DISCUSSION: About one third of the elderly patients took analgesics regularly or as needed. Despite the relatively high use of OTC analgesics, the proportions of duplicate prescription, medication overdoses, and adverse interactions due to OTC products was low.

[The professional and private situation of male and female physicians entering postgraduate medical education in Germany]. / Die berufliche und private Situation von Ärztinnen und Ärzten zu Beginn der fachärztlichen Weiterbildung.

AIM: This study investigated the professional and the private situation of medical interns at the onset of their postgraduate training in Germany. We analysed the contractual situation and the working hours in the hospital, the professional situation of the partner and the number of hours invested in private life with special reference to gender and children. METHOD: A standardised postal survey was conducted among all last year medical students in the medical faculties of Erlangen, Giessen, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Cologne, Leipzig and Magdeburg after entering postgraduate training. 1 009 were contacted for a first follow-up one year later and 87% responded. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were performed. RESULTS: The analysis shows that female physicians are disadvantaged compared to males with regard to various professional and private conditions relevant for career development, especially when children are present. We found a large number of hints pointing towards a persistence of traditional role patterns within the couple relationship. These conditions differed substantially between the regions of former German Federal and former German Democratic Republic. CONCLUSIONS: A growing number of children in the study population in the course of the longitudinal analysis will show if these gender-related differences persist in the course of the training period and which influences on career development can be observed.

[The epidemiology of chronic diseases and long-term care: results of a claims data-based study]. / Die Epidemiologie von chronischen Krankheiten und Pflegebedürftigkeit : Eine Untersuchung auf der Basis von Abrechnungsdaten der gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung.

BACKGROUND: It is generally assumed that chronic diseases and multimorbidity increase the risk of long-term care. Nevertheless, a systematic study on the nature and the prevalence of those diseases associated with long-term care has not been yet undertaken in Germany. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was perfomed using claims data of one nationwide operating statutory health insurance company in 2006. Inclusion criteria were age ≥ 65 years, minimum of 1 out of 46 diagnoses in a minimum of three quarters of the year (n = 8,678). A comparison group was formed with n = 114,962. We calculated prevalences and relative risks -using nominal regression- to determine influential factors on long-term care. RESULTS: A small number of diseases (e.g. dementia, urinary incontinence, chronic stroke and cardiac insufficiency) show high prevalences (> 20%) among long-term care users and at the same time great prevalence differences between users and non-users CONCLUSION: These data are important for improving medical and nursing care of long-term care users. Further research is needed with regard to the question by which mechanisms those diseases produce disability and frailty, thus leading to long-term care requirements.

[Potentially inappropriate medication in elderly primary care patients : A retrospective, longitudinal analysis]. / Potenziell inadäquate Medikamente bei älteren hausärztlich versorgten Patientinnen und Patienten : Eine retrospektive Längsschnittanalyse.

BACKGROUND: Elderly people are often burdened by several diseases. This accounts for a higher medication intake and increases the risk of adverse drug events. To minimize this risk, several lists (Beers, PRISCUS) have been published of drugs that elderly patients should not take. We present a longitudinal analysis of the use of potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) over a period 4.5 years in a cohort of patients aged 75 years or more. METHODS: Data were collected from the prospective, multicenter, observational study "German Study on Ageing, Cognition and Dementia in Primary Care Patients (AgeCoDe)," initially enrolling 3,327 patients. We investigated the prevalence of PIM by checking medications during visits to patients' homes. Furthermore, we analyzed the use of individual PIM agents over time. RESULTS: At baseline, we found a PIM prevalence of 29 % according to the PRISCUS list, which decreased to 25.0 % 4.5 years later (χ(2): 7.87, p = 0.004). The Beers list yielded a prevalence of 21 % at baseline, decreasing after 4.5 years to 17.1 % (χ(2): 10.77, p = 0.000). A time-dependent multilevel model confirmed these results. Older age, depression, and the use of numerous prescribed agents are independent risk factors for using a PRISCUS-PIM. CONCLUSION: Our results seem to support a trend toward a more rational drug therapy because fewer patients were prescribed PIM. Thus, for the individual patient, the risk of adverse effects and side effects is reduced as are the costs of these effects.

[Satisfied general practitioners and critical nursing staff - problems of interprofessional cooperation in the home care of dementia patients]. / Zufriedene Hausärzte und kritische Pflegende - Probleme der interprofessionellen Zusammenarbeit in der Versorgung zu Hause lebender Menschen mit Demenz.

AIM OF THE STUDY: Analysis of views of general practioners and nurses of interprofessional cooperation between general practititoners and nurses in the ambulatory care of dementia patients is presented. METHODS: A survey was carried out among general practitioners and nurses caring for community dwelling dementia patients in Hamburg. RESULTS: The majority of GPs and nurses consider interprofessional cooperation to be good and beneficial for their own work. GPs are generally more positive about the quality of cooperation than nurses. Joint sessions for planning and evaluation of care are seldom. Even so, more GPs than nurses evaluate the frequency of these meetings to be sufficient. Although nurses are more critical about the quality of the cooperation with the GPs, they seldom address the GP to express their criticism. CONSEQUENCES: To make cooperation work, the matter should be part of the training of both physicians and nurses and the hierarchy between the 2 groups should be reduced.

[General practitioner or specialist at home or abroad?]. / Hausarzt oder Spezialist im In- oder Ausland?

This study investigated the career preferences of medical graduates in Germany with regard to discipline, place and position after the completion of postgraduate training. We also investigated differences in career options according to gender and region of study (former German Federal Republic vs. former German Democratic Republic).The study is based on a standardised postal survey among all last year medical students in the medical faculties of Erlangen, Giessen, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Cologne, Leipzig and Magdeburg in 2009. 2 107 persons were contacted and 1 012 (48%) participated in the survey.96% of participants stated their intention to pursue a postgraduate training in a medical discipline, and only 0.4% denied such an objective. 7% of the graduates preferred a career towards general practice, and a similar percentage preferred general internal medicine which usually also leads to a primary care activity. 84% aimed at becoming a medical specialist. In total, 28% intended to work in a specialist practice, and 10% in a general practice. Only one-fifth of the latter aimed at working in a countryside setting. 7% aimed at starting postgraduate training outside of Germany, and 8% preferred to work outside Germany after completion of the postgraduate training. In both cases, Switzerland was by far the most preferred country.The results contradict the thesis that young graduates are reluctant to enter clinical medicine. Working abroad is within the scope of less than 10% of the graduates. A dramatic difference between the demand for general practitioners and the career intentions of medical graduates is observed. Measures to increase the attractiveness of primary care, especially in the countryside, are urgently needed.

[Do female medical graduates have different views on professional work and workload compared to their male colleagues? Results of a multicenter postal survey in Germany]. / Haben Frauen am Ende des Medizinstudiums andere Vorstellungen über Berufstätigkeit und Arbeitszeit als ihre männlichen Kollegen? Ergebnisse einer multizentrischen postalischen Befragung.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: This study investigated the career preferences of medical graduates with regard to discipline, final position, preferred area of work, and work load after the completion of postgraduate according to gender in Germany. METHODS: Standardized postal survey among all last year medical students in the medical faculties of Erlangen, Giessen, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Cologne, Leipzig and Magdeburg in 2009. 2017 persons were contacted and 1012 (48 %) participated. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were performed. Qualitative interviews with graduates completed data collection. RESULTS: Overall, graduates prefer the hospital over private practice as their workplace after postgraduate training. However, 50 % of male graduates but only 29 % of female graduates aspire a leading position in the hospital. Male graduates often prefer careers in surgical disciplines, specialized internal medicine whereas female graduates orient themselves towards gynecology, pediatrics and smaller clinical disciplines like dermatology. 80 % of male but only 40 % of female graduates prefer a full-time position after completion of postgraduate training, whereas 16 % of female graduates aim at a part-time position only. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate the persistence of traditional role models among medical graduates. Men aim at leading positions in the hospital whereas women prefer lower hospital positions or outpatient practices. Women look for part-time jobs, at least temporarily for child rearing whereas men continue to prefer full-time jobs.

Net costs of dementia by disease stage.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate net costs of dementia by degree of severity from a societal perspective, including a detailed assessment of costs of formal and informal nursing care. METHOD: In a cross-sectional study, costs of illness were analysed in 176 dementia patients and 173 matched non-demented control subjects. Healthcare resource use and costs were assessed retrospectively by means of a questionnaire. Dementia patients were classified into three disease stages, and linear regression models were applied to estimate net costs of dementia by degree of severity. RESULTS: Annual net costs of dementia by stage were approximately €15 000 (mild), €32 000 (moderate) and €42 000 (severe), corresponding to US-$21 450, 45 760 and 60 060 respectively. Across disease stages, nursing care accounted for approximately three-quarters of total costs, of which half resulted from informal care. In sensitivity analyses using different valuation methods for nursing care, total costs decreased or increased by more than 20%. CONCLUSION: Net costs more than double across stages of dementia. Informal care accounts for a considerable share of nursing care costs, and the approach to valuation of informal care has a large impact on cost-of-illness estimates.

A genome-wide survey of human short-term memory.

Recent advances in the development of high-throughput genotyping platforms allow for the unbiased identification of genes and genomic sequences related to heritable traits. In this study, we analyzed human short-term memory, which refers to the ability to remember information over a brief period of time and which has been found disturbed in many neuropsychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia and depression. We performed a genome-wide survey at 909 622 polymorphic loci and report six genetic variations significantly associated with human short-term memory performance after genome-wide correction for multiple comparisons. A polymorphism within SCN1A (encoding the α subunit of the type I voltage-gated sodium channel) was replicated in three independent populations of 1699 individuals. Functional magnetic resonance imaging during an n-back working memory task detected SCN1A allele-dependent activation differences in brain regions typically involved in working memory processes. These results suggest an important role for SCN1A in human short-term memory.

[The joint research project "Comorbidity and multimorbidity in primary care" (MultiCare)]. / Das Verbundvorhaben "Komorbidität und Multimorbidität in der hausärztlichen Versorgung" (MultiCare).

MultiCare is the acronym for a multidisciplinary and multicenter research network on multimorbidity and comorbidity in the primary care/family medicine setting, which is coordinated by the Institute of Primary Medical Care of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. Multimorbidity is one of the most difficult problems in primary medical care as little is known about the interaction of several diseases in a person with regard to etiology and disease progress. Also, guidelines for the treatment of multimorbid patients are largely lacking. Therefore, the aims of the MultiCare network include: the identification of multimorbidity patterns in the elderly primary care population, analysis of incidence and prevalence and of interactions within clusters, the investigation of severity and consequences for patients, as well as trials to improve physician-patient interaction in the case of multimorbidity. During the first funding period (2008-2010) the network consisted of two observational and two interventional studies. Their results as of summer 2011 are presented in the following article.

Do general practitioners recognize mild cognitive impairment in their patients?

OBJECTIVES: The need for recognition of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in primary care is increasingly discussed because MCI is a risk factor for dementia. General Practitioners (GPs) could play an important role in the detection of MCI since they have regular and long-term contact with the majority of the elderly population. Thus the objective of this study is to find out how well GPs recognize persons with MCI in their practice population. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Primary care chart registry sample. PARTICIPANTS: 3,242 non-demented GP patients aged 75-89 years. MEASUREMENTS: GPs assessed the cognitive status of their patients on the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS). Thereafter, trained interviewers collected psychometric data by interviewing the patients at home. The interview data constitute the basis for the definition of MCI cases (gold standard). RESULTS: The sensitivity of GPs to detect MCI was very low (11-12%) whereas their specificity amounts to 93-94%. Patients with MCI with a middle or high level of education more often got a false negative assignment than patients with a low educational level. The risk of a false positive assignment rose with the patients' degree of comorbidity. GPs were better at detecting MCI when memory or two and more MCI-domains were impaired. CONCLUSION: The results show that GPs recognise MCI in a very limited number of cases when based on clinical impression only. A further development of the MCI concept and its operationalisation is necessary. Emphasis should be placed on validated, reliable and standardised tests for routine use in primary care encompassing other than only cognitive domains and on case finding approaches rather than on screening. Then a better attention and qualification of GPs with regard to the recognition of MCI might be achievable.

Risk factors for incident mild cognitive impairment--results from the German Study on Ageing, Cognition and Dementia in Primary Care Patients (AgeCoDe).

OBJECTIVES: To provide age- and gender-specific incidence rates of MCI among elderly general practitioner (GP) patients (75+ years) and to identify risk factors for incident MCI. METHOD: Data were derived from the longitudinal German Study on Ageing, Cognition and Dementia in Primary Care Patients (AgeCoDe). Incidence was calculated according to the 'person-years-at-risk' method. Risk factors were analysed using multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS: During the 3-year follow-up period, 350 (15.0%) of the 2331 patients whose data were included in the calculation of incidence developed MCI [person-years (PY) = 6198.20]. The overall incidence of MCI was 56.5 (95% confidence interval = 50.7-62.7) per 1000 PY. Older age, vascular diseases, the apoE epsilon4 allele and subjective memory complaints were identified as significant risk factors for future MCI. CONCLUSION: Mild cognitive impairment is frequent in older GP patients. Subjective memory complaints predict incident MCI. Especially vascular risk factors provide the opportunity of preventive approaches.

[CERAD-NP battery: Age-, gender- and education-specific reference values for selected subtests. Results of the German Study on Ageing, Cognition and Dementia in Primary Care Patients (AgeCoDe)]. / CERAD-NP-Testbatterie: Alters-, geschlechts- und bildungsspezifische Normen ausgewählter Subtests. Ergebnisse der German Study on Ageing, Cognition and Dementia in Primary Care Patients (AgeCoDe).

The CERAD-NP battery represents well-established tests for the neuropsychological diagnosis of characteristic cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's dementia. However, the use of neuropsychological tests requires reliable standard values for the population under consideration, taking sociodemographic characteristics like age, education and gender into account. This report presents age-, education- and gender-specific reference values for the subtests verbal fluency, word list memory, word list recall and word list recognition as well as the word list savings score of the CERAD-NP battery. The study sample consists of 2891 general practitioners' patients from Germany aged 75 years and older. The study participants had a mean age of 80.2 years (SD=3.6); thus, this report provides reliable reference values for the neuropsychological diagnosis of dementia in older age groups.

[Stigma and taboo in dementia care - does continuing education for GPs and nurses contribute to destigmatisation]. / Tabu und Stigma in der Versorgung von Patienten mit Demenz: Kann ein Fortbildungsangebot für Hausärzte und ambulante Pflegedienste zur Destigmatisierung beitragen?

One of the main reasons for deficits in the care of patients with dementia is the taboo on the disease and the stigma of the people suffering from the disease, also from the side of the professional caregivers. The aim of the project was to find out whether a continuing education program for GPs and for nurses in ambulatory care was able to increase the skills of professionals to better communicate with patients and relatives on the taboo topic of dementia. The program was developed with a multi-professional team and tested with 53 GPs and 54 nurses in ambulatory care. The evaluation was performed with a 39-item questionnaire administered before and after the training. Also, to test the stability of the outcomes, the same questionnaire was administered to the GPs after one year and after two months for the nurses. The process quality of the training was evaluated very positively in both groups. Outcome quality was also very positive. Many attitudes of the GPs changed in a positive way and this change was still present after one year. This was the case for their general attitude towards caring for people with dementia, their view on therapeutic possibilities, their willingness to support relatives, to refer them to the Alzheimer Society and to suggest to them participation in a self-help group. Results for the nurses pointed in the same direction. However, with regard to diagnosis disclosure and informing the patient, no effect of the training could be shown in the GP sample.