Training dementia care professionals to help caregivers improve the management of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia using the DICE Approach: A pilot study.

Most persons living with dementia (PLWD) exhibit behavioral or psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) over the course of the illness. The DICE Approach (DICE) is a framework that enables caregivers to identify, evaluate, and manage BPSD. This pilot pre-post test study examined the effects of DICE training on dementia care professionals' self-efficacy, knowledge, and attitudes regarding care of patients with BPSD. Participants underwent either in-person DICE training or, during the pandemic, online training. Case consultations were offered as additional learning opportunities in challenging situations. Of 134 participants in the trainings, 122 (91.0%) provided survey data for one or more instruments before and after training. Participants experienced significant improvement in knowledge and attitudes with respect to BPSD and improvement in self-efficacy with respect to helping caregivers respond to BPSD. Training dementia care professionals in DICE can improve their capacity to support caregivers in the management of BPSD.

Growing the Psychiatry Workforce Through Expansion or Creation of Residencies and Fellowships: the Results of a Survey by the AADPRT Workforce Task Force.

OBJECTIVE: The USA needs to produce more psychiatrists to meet projected workforce deficits. The American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training Directors (AADPRT) sought to examine opportunities for and obstacles to expanding or creating residencies and fellowships. METHODS: In November 2019, the authors conducted a survey of residency and fellowship directors. The survey gathered information about new positions, new programs, participation in interprofessional education, and loss of residency or fellowship positions. RESULTS: The survey was distributed to psychiatry residency (N=231) and fellowship (N=194) directors, with a response rate of 33.4%. One quarter of responding residencies and fellowships reported creating new programs; 24.7% of residency and 17.5% of fellowships reported expansion. The most common reason to develop or expand programs was the shortage of psychiatrists, with the local institution as the most common funding source. Fifty-seven percent reported that they had wanted to expand, but faced barriers, primarily lack of funding. Recruitment and retention of faculty are major challenges. Psychiatry departments frequently (87.5%) participate in interprofessional education, generally perceived as positive. Unfortunately, 15.7% of respondents reported loss of positions or closure of programs. CONCLUSIONS: Creating and expanding residencies and fellowships are common strategies for addressing the shortage of psychiatrists. Barriers include lack of funding and challenges recruiting/retaining faculty. The loss of residency/fellowship positions or closure of programs is a worrisome trend.

Management of Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: We review non-pharmacological and pharmacological approaches to managing behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). We examine methods for assessment and evidence for interventions, focusing on recent findings and innovations. Finally, we recommend an algorithm for management of BPSD. RECENT FINDINGS: Training of formal caregivers is the most effective intervention for BPSD; other non-pharmacological interventions are also beneficial. Antidepressants and antipsychotics remain a mainstay of pharmacological treatment for BPSD. There is limited evidence supporting the use of stimulants, cognitive enhancers, dextromethorphan/quinidine, benzodiazepines, anticonvulsants, and pimavanserin. The management of BPSD is highly individualized. Following thorough assessment, the initial step is addressing contributing medical problems. Non-pharmacological interventions should be tried prior to pharmacological interventions. Antipsychotics should be prescribed only when behaviors pose a significant safety risk or if the person with dementia is very distressed. New approaches will be needed to address an increasing population of people with dementia.

Integrated Care: Should It Count as Community Psychiatry Training for Psychiatry Residents?

Psychiatry residents are required to be exposed to community psychiatry. Historically, this occurred in public hospitals or assertive community treatment (ACT) teams. A new model of psychiatric care delivery, integrated care, has become prevalent. While integrated care shares some features with traditional community psychiatry rotations, no research exists to demonstrate if integrated care rotations can accomplish the aims of traditional rotations. This pilot study compared learning outcomes in ACT team rotations versus integrated care rotations. Pre- and post-rotation surveys were disseminated to third-year psychiatry residents (N = 8) who were randomized to complete a rotation with an ACT team or an integrated care team. By rotation end, many in both settings changed how conservative they were in treatment philosophies, but this did not result in a difference between groups. Residents in both groups were satisfied with their rotations. Training in integrated care may be a reasonable alternative to traditional community psychiatry rotations.

Faculty Development for Teaching Faculty in Psychiatry: Where We Are and What We Need.

OBJECTIVE: A Faculty Development Task Force surveyed the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training membership to assess faculty development for graduate medical education faculty in psychiatry departments and barriers to seeking graduate medical education careers. METHODS: An anonymous Survey Monkey survey was emailed to 722 American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training members. The survey included questions about demographics, the current state of faculty development offerings within the respondent's psychiatry department and institution, and potential American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training faculty development programming. Two open-response questions targeted unmet faculty development needs and barriers to seeking a career in graduate medical education. Results were analyzed as frequencies and open-ended questions were coded by two independent coders. We limited our analysis to general psychiatry program director responses for questions regarding faculty development activities in an attempt to avoid multiple responses from a single department. RESULTS: Response rates were 21.0% overall and 30.4% for general program directors. General program directors reported that the most common existing departmental faculty development activities were educational grand rounds (58.7%), teaching workshops (55.6%), and funding for external conference attendance (52.4%). Of all survey respondents, 48.1% expressed the need for more protected time, 37.5% teaching skills workshops, and 16.3% mentorship. Lack of funding (56.9%) and time (53.9%) as well as excessive clinical demands (28.4%) were identified as the main barriers to seeking a career in graduate medical education. CONCLUSIONS: Despite increasing faculty development efforts in psychiatry departments and institutions, real and significant unmet faculty development needs remain. Protected time remains a significant unmet need of teaching faculty which requires careful attention by departmental leadership.

A Curriculum for Residents to Develop Successful Quality Improvement Projects.

BACKGROUND: Quality improvement (QI) education in residency training has become critical for numerous reasons, but little has been written about factors that lead to successful improvement projects within residency training. METHODS: A quality improvement curriculum for third-year psychiatry residents was developed. The percentage of resident projects that have been successfully implemented was calculated. Residents completed the QI Knowledge Application Tool adapted for psychiatry before and after the curriculum to assess knowledge and skills. RESULTS: Eighteen of 19 resident projects were successfully implemented. QI Knowledge Application Tool scores improved from 4.8 to 8.1 (P = 0.0053) after completion of the curriculum. CONCLUSIONS: Residents are able to implement successful projects and to increase their knowledge and skills in quality improvement when given appropriate resources and incentives.

How to Draw on Narrative to Mitigate Ageism.

Ageism is so structurally integrated and normalized in US health care that it is generally unnoticed by clinicians, despite its effects on the medical care and lives of older adults. Clinicians often lack time, incentives, and opportunities to pause and fully consider the perspective of older adults, especially those with mental illness. As a result, clinicians might infantilize older adults and pathologize or dismiss their preferences, values, and capacity for growth. This commentary on a case proposes a narrative-based ethical approach to shift clinicians' perception of older adults as suffering from the inevitable and unsolvable problems of aging to experiencing a need for dignity and the possibility of continued personal growth.

Using Academic Detailing to Enhance the Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes of Clinicians Caring for Persons with Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia.

Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are highly prevalent in long-term care settings. We sought to enhance the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of primary care clinicians caring for patients with BPSD through academic detailing, an evidence-based approach for persuading health care professionals to make changes in their practice. We implemented academic detailing among physicians and nurse practitioners in 2 primary care settings, one an urban center serving a largely Black community and another a rural center serving a largely white community, within primary care-integrated dementia diagnostic clinics. Each of the 11 academic detailing visits included didactic content, case discussion, and patient consultation. Outcome measures included assessments of clinicians' knowledge, confidence, and acceptability of the intervention. Of 15 providers who participated at baseline, 13 participated in 1 or more academic detailing visits in the next 18 months, 12 completed a 6-month assessment, and 7 completed an 18-month assessment. Knowledge and attitudes about BPSD increased during the program, and there was high satisfaction with the program. Academic detailing thus is a feasible way of improving self-reported knowledge, skills, and attitudes of primary care clinicians caring for patients with BPSD. We plan to scale up the intervention to assess the impact on patient and caregiver outcomes.

Implementation of the AAMC's Holistic Review Model for Psychiatry Resident Recruitment.

Introduction: In psychiatry, several converging factors are impacting the recruitment of residents: the increased competitiveness of the specialty, the national trend to take active steps to improve diversity and inclusion, and the decision from USMLE to change Step 1 to a pass/fail result. Methods: We developed a workshop for psychiatry residency program directors to meet these challenges and transition into using a holistic review model during recruitment. The workshop included (1) a didactic session providing background on the AAMC holistic review model; (2) a small-group exercise to determine and prioritize experiences, attributes, competencies, and metrics (EACMs) aligned with the program's mission and aims; (3) a review of the rankings from the previous exercise, selection of two "very important" criteria for each of the four domains of the EACM model, and operationalization of these criteria based on the recruitment process; and (4) a discussion focused on application of program criteria with example applicants. Results: The holistic review workshop was conducted at the American Association of Psychiatry Residency Directors conference in 2021 with 48 self-selected attendees. Following the workshop, 74% of attendees reported a likelihood of implementing holistic applications during their next application cycle, 78% were able to leave with at least one actionable item, 100% thought that the session was interactive, and 78% felt that the session met their expectations. Discussion: Implementing a holistic review for psychiatry residency recruitment can assist programs in responding to the rapidly changing landscape and achieve aims for improving diversity and inclusion.

Neurology didactic curricula for psychiatry residents: a review of the literature and a survey of program directors.

OBJECTIVE: Minimal literature exists on neurology didactic instruction offered to psychiatry residents, and there is no model neurology didactic curriculum offered for psychiatry residency programs. The authors sought to describe the current state of neurology didactic training in psychiatry residencies. METHODS: The authors electronically surveyed 172 directors of U.S. psychiatric residency training programs to examine the types and extent of neurology didactic instruction offered to their residents. RESULTS: Fifty-seven program directors (33%) responded. The majority of these psychiatry residency programs offer neurology didactic instruction to their residents, as provided by both neurology and psychiatry faculty, in a number of different settings and covering many topics. However, room for improvement likely remains. CONCLUSIONS: The authors hope this report will guide psychiatry residencies in optimizing their neurology didactic curricula. Further research should explore tools for assessing resident knowledge in neurology and measure the effectiveness of neurology curricula in increasing knowledge and improving clinical outcomes.

The Use of Health Care and Community-Based Services by People Living With Dementia and Their Caregivers During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: People living with dementia have been particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A survey of dementia care professionals was conducted to assess the use of health care and community-based services by people living with dementia and their caregivers during the first year of the pandemic. RESULTS: The survey indicated that most services were no longer being used or were being used less during the pandemic, with a few key exceptions. DISCUSSION: Many barriers and few facilitators were identified to service use for people living with dementia and their caregivers. The results identify potential gaps in the dementia care service network and may inform efforts to improve dementia care during future large-scale public health emergencies in the state of Wisconsin and beyond.

Training professional caregivers to screen for report of cognitive changes in persons with intellectual disability.

Introduction: By age 60, 60% of adults with Down syndrome (DS) have dementia. Detecting dementia in persons with intellectual disability (ID) can be challenging because their underlying cognitive impairment can confound presentation of dementia symptoms and because adults with ID may have difficulty reporting symptoms. The National Task Group Early Detection Screen for Dementia (NTG-EDSD) was developed to aid detection of report of cognitive impairment in adults with ID. We implemented an educational curriculum using the NTG-EDSD and evaluated the impact of the intervention on professional caregivers' self-assessed capacity to identify persons with ID and dementia. Methods: We held five in-person training sessions for professional caregivers of persons with ID, partnering with various managed care organizations and social services agencies. We assessed knowledge and attitudes at baseline; immediately after training; and 1 week, 1 month, and 6 months after training. Results: A total of 154 direct care workers, case managers, health-care providers, and other social services staff attended the trainings. Satisfaction with the NTG-EDSD training was high; 94% of attendees agreed or strongly agreed that they could use the NTG-EDSD with their clients. After training, attendees reported a marked increase in confidence in their ability to track various health circumstances and detect functional decline in their clients, although some gains were not sustained over time. As a result of the training, one managed care organization made the NTG-EDSD a standard part of its assessment of adults with DS starting at age 40. Discussion: Social services and health-care professionals can learn to document signs of cognitive decline in adults with ID using the NTG-EDSD. Attendees were highly satisfied with the training, experienced an increase in confidence in their care of persons with ID, and found the NTG- EDSD feasible to use. Because not all gains were sustained over time, booster trainings may be necessary.

The Wisconsin Alzheimer's Institute Dementia Diagnostic Clinic Network: A community of practice to improve dementia care.

BACKGROUND: The Wisconsin Alzheimer's Institute (WAI) Dementia Diagnostic Clinic Network is a community of practice formed in 1998 as a collaboration of community-based clinics from various healthcare systems throughout the state. Its purpose is to promote the use of evidence-based strategies to provide high quality care throughout Wisconsin for people with dementia. The purpose of this study is to describe the use of a community of practice to facilitate education of healthcare providers on best practices in dementia care, and the implementation of an interprofessional approach to diagnose and manage dementia and related disorders. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of the members of the WAI's Dementia Diagnosis Clinic Network. Characteristics of clinics and healthcare teams, learners' participation in educational events and educational outcomes were collected from evaluation forms. Number and characteristics of patients seen in the memory clinics were collected from de-identified data forms submitted by members to a centralized location for data analysis. RESULTS: The clinic network currently has 38 clinics affiliated with 26 different healthcare systems or independent medical groups in 21 of 72 Wisconsin counties. Most (56%) are based in primary care, 15% in psychiatry, and 29% in neurology. Between 2018 and 2021, we received data on 4710 patients; 92% were ≥65 years old, 60% were female, and 92% were white. Network members meet in-person twice a year to learn about innovations in the field of dementia care and to share best practices. Educational events associated with the network are shown to be relevant, useful, and improve knowledge and skills of participants. CONCLUSION: Communities of practice provide added value via shared best practices and educational resources, continuing education of the health workforce, continuous quality improvement of clinical practices, and adoption of new diagnostic and management approaches in dementia care.