A qualitative research of the status-quo of service in primary health care for dementia who stay in home in the supply-side perspective

Objective To understand the status quo of primary medical and health services for home aged dementia patients in Weifang from the perspective of medical service providers. And to provide suggestions for improving the primary medical services and community care for home aged dementia patients. Methods A semi-structured in-depth interview was conducted with 26 primary medical and health care workers in the primary medical and health services of home patients with senile dementia, and the interview data were summarized and extracted by content analysis method. Results Four themes were extracted according to the primary medical and health services for home aged dementia patients. Theme 1: less chance to contact with dementia patients, and the understanding of the disease is biased. Theme 2: limited medical services and no targeted services. Theme 3: receive less relevant training and need professional technical support. Theme 4: there is no system of medical support, and an effective model needs to be established. Conclusion There are few primary medical and health services for home patients with senile dementia, and there are regional differences. It is necessary to increase the understanding of home patients with senile dementia by various means and increase the primary medical services for home patients. Key words: Dementia; Grass root medical institutions; Community health services; Qualitative research