Table 1 The Interview guide used to get in-depth insight in how health workers assessed and diagnosed dementia is shown. Semi-structured open-ended questions are designated in brackets

Biographic data: Job title, level of training, Gender, Age, Number of years in post

Approximately how many elderly people, around 60 years and older do you see at this health center per day?

What have you observed about the behavior of your elderly patients? (Probe for difficulty remembering history, “odd” behavior, poor hygiene, inappropriately dressed for the weather.)

How comfortable are you in assessing elderly patients suspected to have dementia? (Probe for how they asses memory loss, difficulty performing familiar tasks, problems with language, disorientation to time and place, poor or decreased judgment, problems with abstract thinking, misplacing things, changes in mood or behavior, changes in personality, loss of initiative.)

Please tell me about the kind of tools used to assess for dementia here at your health facility? (Probe for whether they perform a cognitive examination or neurological examination, and whether they use the MOCA, MMSE, or other standardized assessment tool.)

Tell me about any training you have received about assessing for dementia? (Probe for what sorts of training would they want to get, if they wanted more training for dementia.)

Do you commonly recommend any diagnostic tests for someone suspected of having dementia? (Probe for whether they recommend lumbar puncture; blood work such as HIV, RPR, B12, CBC, LFTs; depression screening; neuroimaging.)

If a patient is suspected of having dementia, do you commonly tell them their diagnosis? Do you tell their family or caregiver the diagnosis? (Probe for whether they integrate family members; prepare anything for disclores meeting; consider the patient’s perspective or prepare for the patient’s or family’s reaction to the diagnosis)