Maud Hevink

| 49 3 Introduction People with dementia and their families encounter a wide array of healthcare providers (1). Traditionally, dementia healthcare is organized around the diagnostic trajectory and post-diagnostic support. In the diagnostic process, healthcare providers assess symptoms to determine the presence of dementia (2). Once a diagnosis is received, people transition into post-diagnostic support whereby healthcare providers provide various types of support to help people live well with dementia (3). Having a distinction between services for primary diagnosis (such as memory clinics), and post-diagnostic support (such as homecare) without sufficient integration, can present several downsides. For instance, communicating a diagnosis is the end of the diagnostic trajectory for the healthcare provider disclosing a dementia diagnosis but at the same time, it may also be perceived as the start of the post-diagnostic support phase by people receiving the diagnosis (4). Caregivers have perceived the process of receiving a diagnosis and subsequent support as ‘a continuous dementia journey’ (5). However, the transition from diagnosis to support might not be a smooth one as medical specialists who disclose a dementia diagnosis are often only minimally involved in post-diagnostic support. This can lead to a support gap right after diagnosis, as one-third of people recently diagnosed with dementia and their caregivers lack appropriate information on post-diagnostic support (6). Quantitative evidence suggests that the information needs of caregivers after diagnosis often remain unmet (7). In addition, guidance by a diagnostician to post-diagnostic support is often perceived as minimal or lacking, furthering the perceived gap from the diagnostic process to post-diagnostic support (8). Qualitative evidence suggests that continued support after disclosure could be helpful as the impact of diagnostic disclosure may vary over time (9). Various attempts have been made to bridge the gap between the diagnostic process and post-diagnostic support and healthcare providers play a crucial role in this. For example, general practitioner (GP) guidelines in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands state that GPs can make a dementia diagnosis as well as provide post-diagnostic support (10, 11). In addition, case managers primarily provide post-diagnostic support but can also be involved prior to a dementia diagnosis in case of mild cognitive impairments (12). In some cases, people already use dementia-specific support prior to receiving a diagnosis

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