[Attitudes toward dementia management in Germany - Data from the IMPACT survey (Important Perspectives on Alzheimer's Care and Treatment)].

AIM: To assess attitudes and opinions of primary care physicians, neuropsychiatrists, care givers, and community members regarding the management of dementia in Germany.
METHODS: The IMPACT survey, a 30-minute web-based questionnaire conducted between April and May 2009, queried 350 subjects in Germany (200 community members, 100 physicians, 50 caregivers of patients with dementia) as a subpopulation of 1800 subjects involved in the management of dementia subjects across Europe.
RESULTS: Community members favored dementia-screening (p < 0.001) in healthy elderly and wanted to know a diagnosis of dementia as early as possible (p = 0.092). German physicians regarded dementia as underdiagnosed and undertreated, they acknowledged the effectiveness of available antidementia drugs and saw the major reason for not-prescribing in the costs of drugs.
CONCLUSION: Professional knowledge about dementia has to be enhanced and financial restrictions have to be reduced to improve dementia management on all levels of medical care. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.