Background Despite the rapid increase in the knowledge of epidemiology, genetics, risk factors and underlying neuropathological mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and the rising number of consensus statements and guidelines for its diagnosis and treatment, little has been done concerning the training of the involved professionals. In particular, the European ALCOVE project (Alzheimer COOperative valuation in Europe) has indeed addressed this issue. Therefore there is a need to assess to what extent professionals in the Basque Country are receiving the recommended education.

Objectives 1. To compare the current training practices in dementia in the Basque Country with the recommendations proposed by ALCOVE. 2. To propose region-specific recommendations on the education of professionals working with patients with AD (neurologists, psychiatrists, primary care providers, nurses).

Methods A questionnaire (both electronic and paper version) was distributed to over 2,000 professionals in the Basque Country in early 2013. The results will be compared with the data arising from the ALCOVE project.

Results Collected data is currently being analysed and final results will be available for presentation at GIN.

Discussion Available guidelines recommend that professionals caring for patients with AD and their families should receive formal education and professional training. However, existing educational programmes might not adhere to these recommendations. Also there might be barriers for these programmes to be correctly implemented.

Implications for Guideline Developers/Users Specific training in dementia should be included in the medical schools’ curriculum in every country given that AD affects an ever increasing number of elderly people worldwide.