Why don't people with MCI approach memory clinics? The role of awareness in medical help-seeking

Gigi, Ariela; Papirovitz, Merav

doi:10.3389/fneur.2022.897737

Cited by 1 publication

(3 citation statements)

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“…They had a history of subjective memory complaints, attributed their cognitive deficits to a biomedical cause, and reported higher levels of anxiety, depression and concern about their perceived cognitive deficits compared to those who did not seek help. Interestingly, no differences were found in objective memory performance between help-seekers and non-help-seekers ( 31 ). The findings of our study support the same conclusion.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Patients’ beliefs and expectations about a disease influence their emotional reactions and coping resources ( 30 ). Awareness of cognitive and functional deficits and subjective perception of the disease may play a crucial role in the intention to seek medical help ( 31 , 32 ). Werner et al found that poor dementia-related knowledge and stigmatic beliefs were the main barriers in a systematic review of 48 studies addressing help-seeking for cognitive impairment ( 11 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…People were more likely to seek help if they felt supported by family, friends and healthcare professionals. Gigi and Papirowitz stated that patients with mild cognitive impairment who seek professional help were characterized with intact awareness of their cognitive and emotional state ( 31 ). They had a history of subjective memory complaints, attributed their cognitive deficits to a biomedical cause, and reported higher levels of anxiety, depression and concern about their perceived cognitive deficits compared to those who did not seek help.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Medical help-seeking intentions among patients with early Alzheimer’s disease

Villarejo-Galende,

García-Arcelay,

Piñol-Ripoll

et al. 2023

Front. Psychiatry

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BackgroundLimited information is available on the active process of seeking medical help in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) at early stages. The aim of this study was to assess the phenomenon of medical help-seeking in early AD and to identify associated factors.MethodsA multicenter, non-interventional study was conducted including patients of 50–90 years of age with prodromal or mild AD (National Institute on Aging/Alzheimer’s Association criteria), a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score ≥ 22, and a Clinical Dementia Rating-Global score (CDR-GS) of 0.5–1.0. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted.ResultsA total of 149 patients were included. Mean age (SD) was 72.3 (7.0) years, 50.3% were female, and 87.2% had a CDR-GS score of 0.5. Mean disease duration was 1.4 (1.8) years. Ninety-four (63.1%) patients sought medical help, mostly from neurologists. Patients with help-seeking intentions were mostly female (60.6%) with a CDR-GS score of 0.5 (91.5%) and had a greater awareness of diagnosis, poorer quality of life, more depressive symptoms, and a more severe perception of their condition than their counterparts. Lack of help-seeking intentions was associated with male sex (p = 0.003), fewer years of education (p = 0.005), a low awareness of diagnosis (p = 0.005), and a low emotional consequence of the condition (p = 0.016).ConclusionUnderstanding the phenomenon of active medical help-seeking may facilitate the design of specific strategies to improve the detection of cognitive impairment, especially in patients with a lower level of educational attainment and poor awareness of their condition.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%