French Congress of Psychiatry

Presentation by Matthias BRUNN of a poster at the Congrès Français de Psychiatrie, Nice, December 4-7, 2019.
Title of poster presented: psychiatrists and neurologists in the management of dementia: a systematic review of concepts, practice and professional perspectives.
Dementia is one of the main areas of interaction between psychiatrists and neurologists. Although interdisciplinary care is recommended by learned societies and public bodies, experience shows that this is not the case in many healthcare institutions. To shed light on this paradox, the authors conducted a systematic literature review in PUBMED to identify scientific publications that examined how psychiatrists and neurologists interact in the care of people with dementia.
The literature search identified 131 documents, 17 of which were selected for full-text analysis, published between 1993 and 2017. The themes identified were grouped into the following categories: professionalism and nosography, diseases and specific technologies, referral mode, specialized facilities and training. In conclusion, psychiatrists and neurologists are currently following two paths to self-regulate their respective roles in dementia care: either choosing to interact with each other along disciplinary boundaries, or resorting to sub-specialization. There is little research on health service models linking psychiatry and neurology in the field of dementia. Addressing it could also inform other fields concerned by both disciplines.