In conjunction with the Catholic University in Quito, Ecuador, the feasibility of completing a study of the prevalence of severe dementia in rural Ecuador was explored. A three phase approach was designed with the successful completion of the preceeding stage as the criteria for advancing to the next stage. The first phase involved the development of screening instruments and an assessment of the sensitivity and specificity of these instruments to identify patients with severe dementia. When the screening instruments were tested in Catamayo, Ciudad a rural city in Ecuador, the field results were inconclusive and significant problems in field activities occurred. As the first phase was unsuccessful, it was decided not to implement further phases of this project. This project is completed.
