Sharing the diagnosis of dementia in the post-Covid clinic: patient and practitioner perspectives

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With the COVID-19 pandemic, most memory clinics switched to remote consultations (by telephone or video-call) to continue to meet the needs of patients while minimising the risk of anyone becoming exposed to the virus. However, there is a significant lack of clarity around how a dementia diagnosis should be delivered remotely and how the person with dementia experiences this process. The aim of this research is to understand experiences of delivering and receiving a dementia diagnosis during COVID-19 through the exploration of emotional impact, practical impact, and ethical considerations. This project will be co-produced by the researchers and a small group of people living with dementia and their care partners (up to eight people). This group will be consulted at each stage of the research. About 30 people who have recently been patients at memory clinics since services shifted to remote working (in March 2020) will be interviewed as well as a similar number of professionals who have been delivering diagnoses. These interviews will be analysed with the group mentioned above to identify recurring themes. These themes will then be used to inform an online national forum. Findings from both this online discussion and the interviews will be used to develop a briefing document for policymakers and a guideline for clinicians about how best to deliver a remote dementia diagnosis. Additional outputs will include podcasts to engage the public and academic papers in open access, peer-reviewed journals.