TY - JOUR T1 - Family physicians and dementia in Canada JF - Canadian Family Physician JO - Can Fam Physician SP - 506 LP - 507.e5 VL - 55 IS - 5 AU - Nicholas J.G. Pimlott AU - Malini Persaud AU - Neil Drummond AU - Carole A. Cohen AU - James L. Silvius AU - Karen Seigel AU - Gary R. Hollingworth AU - William B. Dalziel Y1 - 2009/05/01 UR - http://www.cfp.ca/content/55/5/506.abstract N2 - OBJECTIVE To assess Canadian family physicians’ awareness of, attitudes toward, and use of the 1999 Canadian Consensus Conference on Dementia (CCCD) clinical practice guidelines (CPGs); to explore the barriers and enablers to implementing dementia CPGs in clinical practice; and to identify more effective strategies for future dementia guideline development and dissemination. DESIGN Qualitative study using focus groups. SETTING Academic family practice clinics in Calgary, Alta, Ottawa, Ont, and Toronto, Ont. PARTICIPANTS Eighteen family physicians. METHODS Using a semistructured interview guide, we conducted 4 qualitative focus groups of 4 to 6 family physicians whose practices we had audited in a previous study. Transcripts were coded using an inductive data analytic strategy, and categories and themes were identified and described using the principles of thematic analysis. MAIN FINDINGS Four major themes emerged from the focus group discussions. Family physicians 1) were minimally aware of the existence and the detailed contents of the CCCD guidelines; 2) had strong views about the purposes of guidelines in general; 3) expressed strong concerns about the role of the pharmaceutical industry in the development of such guidelines; and 4) had many ideas to improve future dementia guidelines and CPGs in general. CONCLUSION Family physicians were minimally aware of the 1999 CCCD CPGs. They acknowledged, however, the potential of future CPGs to assist them in patient care and offered many strategies to improve the development and dissemination of future dementia guidelines. Future guidelines should more accurately reflect the day-to-day practice experiences and challenges of family physicians, and guideline developers should also be cognizant of family physicians’ perceptions that pharmaceutical companies’ funding of CPGs undermines the objectivity and credibility of those guidelines. ER -