Professional primary healthcare practices in senile dementia care

Abstract

This article analyzes doctor and nurse practices in Primary Healthcare of elderly with dementia. A transversal and analytical study was conducted in the Primary Care of cities in the northern part of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The doctor and nurse versions of the “Public Healthcare of dementia: from the Primary Care point of view” instrument was applied. Among the 316 participants, 138 were doctors, and 178 were nurses. A statistically significant connection was found between duration of professional experience in service and participation in dementia training (doctors, p=0.026; nurses, p=0.049), and education of professionals and participation in dementia training (doctors, p=0.028; nurses, p=0.003). An incipient practice was observed among doctors and nurses of Primary Healthcare in senile dementia care pointing to the need for developing educational strategies to qualify care.