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 ...