Alzheimer's and Dementia Awareness and Primary Care Training (ADAPT) Ghana

Addressing low dementia awareness and the lack of structured training among frontline healthcare workers in resource-constrained Ghanaian settings.

Project Overview

• Funding & Sponsorship: Sponsored by the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), the Alzheimer's Association, and the Alzheimer's Society UK (GBHI ALZ UK-26-1467780)
• Study Site: Primary healthcare facilities (including CHPS compounds, health centers, and district hospital catchments) within the Shai-Osudoku District of the Greater Accra Region.

Study Objectives and Methodology

The project employs an implementation research design divided into two primary phases aimed at equipping primary healthcare workers (PHWs) with practical tools, such as the Identification of Dementia in Elderly Africans (IDEA) cognitive screen:

Phase 1: Curriculum Adaptation

• Community Advisory Board (CAB): A 10-member multidisciplinary CAB consisting of healthcare professionals, traditional/religious leaders, and dementia caregivers will be assembled.
• Cultural Tailoring: The board will spend 4 weeks reviewing and culturally adapting the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) dementia module to address local stigmas, traditional healing systems, and spiritual misconceptions (e.g., witchcraft attributions).

Phase 2: Pilot Training and Evaluation

• The Workshop: Delivery of a 1-day (8-hour) training session for 40 PHWs (including doctors, physician assistants, and various nursing cadres).
• Knowledge Assessment: Evaluation of knowledge gains using randomized pre- and post-training test tracking via the Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS) and the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS).
• Practice Tracking: A follow-up survey administered 3 months post-training to monitor self-reported practice adjustments, utilization of screening approaches, and tracking of formal patient referral behaviors to secondary and tertiary institutions.