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Table 4 Example of an Alzheimer's Disease International- supported health research study

From: The role of NGOs in global health research for development

The results of a population-based study undertaken in Kerala, India to evaluate a community dementia case-finding program was published by Shaji and collaborators in 2002 [35]. Their aim had been to validate a training program where local community health workers (CHWs) were trained to identify possible cases of dementia. The training program consisted of 2 ½ hours of formal instruction. Workers' diagnoses were then confirmed by an experienced psychiatrist. The 19 CHWs identified 51 possible cases among 1979 persons aged 60 and older in their communities. There was expert confirmation for 33 of these cases (65%). Although the remaining 18 did not have dementia, 13 did in fact suffer from other psychiatric illnesses and only 5 had no psychiatric diagnosis at all. The conclusion was that CHWs can play an important role in identifying cases of dementia in a community setting.