Knowledge and perceptions of Alzheimer’s disease in three ethnic groups of younger adults in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Background Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a global public health problem with an ageing population. Knowledge is essential to promote early awareness, diagnosis and treatment of AD symptoms. AD knowledge is influenced by many cultural factors including cultural beliefs, attitudes and language barriers. This study aims: (1) to define AD knowledge level and perceptions amongst adults between 18 and 49 years of age in the UK; (2) to compare knowledge and perceptions of AD among three main ethnic groups (Asian, Blacks, and Whites); and (3) to assess potential associations of age, gender, education level, affinity with older people (65 or over), family history and caregiving history with AD knowledge. Methods Data was collected from 186 participants as a convenience sample of younger adults of three different ethnicities (16.1% Asian, 16.7% Black, 67.2% White), living in the UK, recruited via an online research platform. The majority of the participants were in the 18–34 years age group (87.6%). Demographic characteristics of participants and AD knowledge correlation were assessed by the 30-item Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS), comprising 7 content domains. ANOVA/ANCOVA were used to assess differences in AD knowledge by ethnicity, gender, education level, age and affinity with dementia and Alzheimer’s patients. Results For AD general knowledge across all respondents only 45.0% answers were correct. No significant differences were found for the total ADKS score between ethnicities in this younger age group, who did not differ in education level. However, there were significant knowledge differences for the ADKS symptom domain score even after controlling for other demographics variables such as gender, education level (p = 0.005). White respondents were more likely to know about AD symptoms than their Black counterparts (p = 0.026). Conclusion The study’s findings suggest that the AD knowledge level is not adequate for all ethnic groups. Meanwhile, significant differences were observed in symptoms, between ethnic groups, and therefore, differ in their needs regards health communication. The study contributes to an understanding of ethnicity differences in AD knowledge amongst adults from 18 to 49 years of age in the UK and may also provide input into an intervention plan for different ethnicities’ information needs.

Dementia Knowledge in Older and Young Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In our study, young people's knowledge level about dementia was 63.5%, which was higher than the relevant study. 22 On the other hand, young and older female groups had very close mean scores. This result may be related to the fact that women are more likely to be caregivers in each period of life and the majority of women assume the primary responsibility for any illness and care in their family in the society.…”

Dementia and stigma

“…V sistematični pregled literature smo vključili 35 znanstvenih prispevkov, ki se nanašajo na področje Evrope (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20), Azije (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29), Avstralije (29)(30)(31), Severne Amerike (32)(33)(34)(35) in Južne Amerike (36)(37)(38). Skupni povprečni delež žensk v obravnavanih študijah je 57 % .…”

“…Pri skupinah z nižjo izobrazbo in pri rasnih in etičnih manjšinah je opazno pomanjkanje informacij in znanja o demenci (4), s tem pa tudi negativen in bolj stigmatizirajoč odnos (5,29). Avtorji raziskav, opravljenih v Združenem kraljestvu, so ugotavljali, da so simptome demence bolje poznali predstavniki bele rase v primerjavi s temnopoltimi (12). V brazilski raziskavi so 2,3-krat večjo stopnjo prisotnosti stigme zaznali pri manj izobraženih osebah v primerjavi z bolje izobraženimi (37).…”

Evaluation of a dementia awareness game for undergraduate nursing students in Northern Ireland: a Pre-/Post-Test study

“…A recent systematic review and meta-analysis concluded that digital gaming can be as effective as a stand-alone or a multi-component program while appealing to a diverse population regardless of age or gender [10]. A prominent instructional method in the field of nursing education is the use of serious games [12][13][14][15][16][17]. Supporters of digital games also promote the accessibility and convenience of such games [18].…”