A Systematic Review of the Public’s Knowledge and Understanding of Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia

Cahill, Suzanne; Pierce, Maria; Werner, Perla; Darley, Andrew; Bobersky, Andrea

doi:10.1097/wad.0000000000000102

Cited by 187 publications

(256 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…We selected as potential time-varying confounding variables: age, equivalized income (27), medical treatment for stroke, hypertension, diabetes (28), dyslipidemia (29), current smoking (30), current alcohol drinking (31), and daily walking time (32). Other time invariant characteristics, such as sex and educational attainment, were omitted from our fixed-effects regressions (33).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased risk of dementia in the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Hikichi

Aida

Kondo

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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No previous study has been able to examine the association by taking account of risk factors for dementia before and after the disaster. We prospectively examined whether experiences of a disaster were associated with cognitive decline in the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. The baseline for our natural experiment was established in a survey of older community-dwelling adults who lived 80 km west of the epicenter 7 mo before the earthquake and tsunami. Approximately 2.5 y after the disaster, the follow-up survey gathered information about personal experiences of disaster as well as incidence of dementia from 3,594 survivors (82.1% follow-up rate). Our primary outcome was dementia diagnosis ascertained by in-home assessment during the follow-up period. Among our analytic sample (n = 3,566), 38.0% reported losing relatives or friends in the disaster, and 58.9% reported property damage. Fixed-effects regression indicated that major housing damage and home destroyed were associated with cognitive decline: regression coefficient for levels of dementia symptoms = 0.12, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.01 to 0.23 and coefficient = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.17 to 0.40, respectively. The effect size of destroyed home is comparable to the impact of incident stroke (coefficient = 0.24, 95% CI: 0.11 to 0.36). The association between housing damage and cognitive decline remained statistically significant in the instrumental variable analysis. Housing damage appears to be an important risk factor for cognitive decline among older survivors in natural disasters.instrumental variable analysis U p to two-thirds of the affected populations in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami were older residents who were 60 y old or older (1). Recovery after major disaster poses a unique set of challenges for the elderly population, including disruption of medical care for preexisting conditions, preexisting functional limitations that impede recovery, and social isolation in the aftermath of housing loss and resettlement. A particular concern for older survivors is the potential risks of cognitive decline. In the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, an estimated 340,000 residents were displaced as a result of widespread destruction to residential properties. In turn, as a direct consequence of residential dislocation and resettlement in unfamiliar surroundings, many seniors experienced disorientation that could hasten cognitive decline (2). Psychological trauma, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (3) and the onset of depression (4), may have additionally contributed to this risk.Two years after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, a cross-sectional study found that 36.0% of seniors who moved to temporary housing in Kesen-numa city were suffering from dementia symptoms (5). Another cross-sectional study of seniors affected by the disaster reported that 47.9% showed signs of mild cognitive impairment, and an additional 16.0% of respondents were diagnosed as having dementia (6). However, ...

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased risk of dementia in the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Hikichi

Aida

Kondo

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Up to now, studies have reported large variations in dementia literacy even in high-income countries (7–10). In six European countries, the Facing Dementia Survey found that community residents had very limited knowledge of early signs and treatments of Alzheimer’s disease: more than 80% thought most people would not recognize early signs, and 76% thought there were no effective treatments (9).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dementia Literacy among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Urban China: A Cross-sectional Study

Zhang

Loi

Zhou

et al. 2017

Front. Public Health

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ObjectiveDelay in seeking diagnosis of dementia is common in China. Misinformation and poor knowledge about dementia may contribute to it. The study was designed to explore the nationwide dementia literacy among older adults in urban China and to investigate the factors associated with overall dementia literacy.MethodsIn a cross-sectional study, a convenience sample of 3,439 community-dwelling old adults aged 60 and over was recruited from 34 cities in 20 provinces between June 20 and August 20, 2014. All participants were administered the face-to-face mental health literacy questionnaire, which included the prevalence, symptoms, intention, and options for treatment of dementia. Stepwise multivariate regression analysis was used to explore factors associated with overall dementia literacy.ResultsThe response rate was 87.4%. The overall dementia literacy was 55.5% (SD = 20.9%) among all respondents. The correct response rate was higher for questions on symptoms (58.7–89.6%), but lower for questions on the prevalence (22.2%) and choosing appropriate professional care personnel (22.2%). Being male [OR = 1.256, 95% CI (1.022–1.543)], having lower per capita annual income [OR = 1.314, 95% CI (1.064–1.623)], lower education [OR = 1.462, 95% CI (1.162–1.839)], and suspected depression [OR = 1.248, 95% CI (1.009–1.543)] were negatively associated with overall dementia literacy.ConclusionDementia literacy among community-dwelling older adults in urban China remains very low, in particular about the impact of dementia and appropriate treatment personnel. Community educational programs aiming to close this knowledge gap are encouraged to focus on those in the population at highest risk of low dementia literacy.

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“…Research into attitudes toward dementia often tends to focus on specific issues such as screening for dementia (Bond et al, 2010), euthanasia (Williams et al, 2007) or artificial feeding (Bryon, de Casterlé & Gastmans, 2008), rather than on wider issues. Moreover, these surveys often do not use validated scales (Cahill et al, 2015), or directly compare attitudes across settings, populations, or over time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does personal experience of dementia change attitudes? The Bristol and South Gloucestershire survey of dementia attitudes

2018

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We recommend you cite the published version. The publisher's URL is: https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301217752707Refereed: Yes (no note) Disclaimer UWE has obtained warranties from all depositors as to their title in the material deposited and as to their right to deposit such material. UWE makes no representation or warranties of commercial utility, title, or fitness for a particular purpose or any other warranty, express or implied in respect of any material deposited.UWE makes no representation that the use of the materials will not infringe any patent, copyright, trademark or other property or proprietary rights. UWE accepts no liability for any infringement of intellectual property rights in any material deposited but will remove such material from public view pending investigation in the event of an allegation of any such infringement. is associated with differences in attitudes towards dementia.Methods: a modified version of the ADQ was completed by 2,201 participants, either on-line or in written form. Participants also recorded their age, gender and ethnicity as well as whether they worked with people with dementia, or had been personally affected by dementia.Results: increased contact with people with dementia was associated with increases in both total ADQ scores and across both sub-scales reflecting more positive personcentred attitudes toward dementia. The highest levels of increase were found amongst non-white participants.Conclusions: this study is, we believe, the first attempt to look systematically at whether greater contact with people with dementia is associated with changes in attitudes. The results strongly support the contention that increased contact with people with dementia leads to more person-centred attitudes, and by inference, less stigmatising views.Keywords: dementia; Alzheimer's disease; community care; stigma; attitudes; social support.3 BackgroundA key element of government policy within the United Kingdom (UK) and elsewhere has been to build dementia-friendly communities, and to reduce the stigma that people with dementia face (Department of Health, 2012). In order for these aims to be achieved, public attitudes towards people with dementia need to become more person-centred. However, it is unclear how attitudes towards people with dementia are formed and whether, for instance, increased contact with people with dementia, either through work or personal experience alters attitudes.Previously research in this area has typically focussed on attitudes of professionals working with individuals living with dementia (e.g., Kokkonen et al., 2014;Leung et al., 2013;Lintern, 2001) In the wider mental health literature, increased levels of contact have been associated with a positive impact on attitudes and a reduction of stigma (London and 4 Evans -Lacko, 2010;Couture and Penn, 2003;Clement et al, 2015). While there is an assumption that increased contact with people with dementia will break down barriers, improve attitudes and help to overcome stigma, not all research findings suggest ...

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A Systematic Review of the Public’s Knowledge and Understanding of Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia

Cited by 187 publications

References 47 publications

Increased risk of dementia in the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Increased risk of dementia in the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Dementia Literacy among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Urban China: A Cross-sectional Study

Does personal experience of dementia change attitudes? The Bristol and South Gloucestershire survey of dementia attitudes

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