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Dementia in Migrants Living in Italy: Promoting a Diversity-sensitive Clinical Approach and Provision of Care

Not yet recruiting
Conditions
Dementia
Alzheimer Disease
Interventions
Diagnostic Test: Neuropsychological tests
Registration Number
NCT06416137
Lead Sponsor
Istituto Superiore di Sanità
Brief Summary

The number of older migrants with cognitive impairment and dementia living in Italy and attending national healthcare services is rapidly increasing. There is a need to develop diversity-sensitive policies and practices to include migrants and people with different cultural values in the public health response to dementia.

Detailed Description

Based on the gaps and barriers identified by the ImmiDem study (GR-2016-02364975), the present project aims to:

i) Describe the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of migrants with cognitive disorders living in Italy, their health outcomes, and their access to healthcare resources; ii) develop and disseminate screening and assessment tools allowing the cross-cultural cognitive examination of individuals with a migration background; iii) raise awareness about dementia among culturally diverse people and train healthcare professionals in how to provide culturally competent care and support for migrants with cognitive disorders.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
NOT_YET_RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
3000
Inclusion Criteria
  • Migrant (person who was not born in Italy) attending an Italian CCDD;
  • Presence of a cognitive impairment.
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Exclusion Criteria
  • A person without any cognitive impairment.
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Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
MigrantsNeuropsychological testsA group of 1,500 migrants with cognitive impairment will be enrolled at CCDDs.
NativesNeuropsychological testsA group of 1,500 natives with cognitive impairment will be enrolled at CCDDs.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Global cognitive functioningBaseline

Global cognitive functioning will be assessed through the Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS). This is a short cognitive screening instrument designed to minimise the effects of cultural learning and language diversity on the assessment of baseline cognitive performance. The score ranges from 0 to 30. Higher scores indicate better cognitive functioning.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
FrailtyBaseline

Frailty will be assessed by computing a Frailty Index (FI) focusing on the clinical history of the patient and collecting diverse deficits. Patients with a higher number of deficits will be considered frailer.

Risk factorsBaseline

Special attention will be paid to the presence of modifiable risk factors for dementia (i.e., low education, hearing impairment, traumatic brain injury, excessive alcohol consumption, obesity, smoking, hypertension, depression, physical inactivity, diabetes, and social isolation). They will be collected and analyzed through a specific questionnaire.

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