Understanding the Gap in Saudi Nurses’ Knowledge of Dementia, Depression and Delirium (the 3Ds), and Investigating Their Relevant Experience: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Aim: This study aims at testing registered nurses' knowledge while working at mental health facilities and general care hospitals, through an exploratory non-experimental study using a random sample of nurse population across Saudi health facilities. Materials and Methods: The study participants were asked to complete a questionnaire consisting of four sections. Section 1 consisted of 21 questions, requesting participants to provide their background and demographic information, followed by a delirium-knowledge-assessment questionnaire (Section 2) consisting of 15 questions of which eight of them required true/false answers, and the remaining questions were multiple-choice. In Section 3, the research tool was a dementia-knowledge-assessment survey consisted of 27 questions that required true/false answers to a given statement about dementia. In Section 4, the depression-knowledge assessment survey provided multiple-choice answers. A total of 265 registered staff nurses (SNs) were included in the study, and were chosen from three Saudi healthcare centers, with an age range of 24-57 years. The participants consisted of 73% females and 27% males. Results: The knowledge of delirium, among the sampled nurses, was not high (M = 6.8906, SD = 2.13363). The employing health center influenced the delirium knowledge significantly, in addition to the job title of the participant, and their highest level of education, in addition to the fact of whether the participant has an immediate family member who has ever been diagnosed with any of the 3Ds. The averages significantly differed across the study sample with immediate family members who have been diagnosed with any of the 3Ds and those without (ANOVA, p = 0.019). Similar to the delirium knowledge, dementia knowledge, among the study participants, was not high (M = 69.2576, SD = 11.29327), and was significantly influenced by the health center, each participant's gender, nationality, job title, highest level of education, and the country where they had completed their highest level of education. The scores, obtained for de-S. Yaghmour et al. 149 mentia knowledge, were positively and significantly correlated to how individual participants rated their current dementia knowledge (ANOVA, p ˂ 0.001). Besides, the regression analysis, which showed how the participants rated their current dementia knowledge, confirmed the significance of explaining such a knowledge (ANOVA, p ˂ 0.001). Contrary to the delirium and dementia knowledge, the participants' depression knowledge was found to be high (ANOVA, SD = 1.97367), and was significantly influenced by the employing health center, the participant's gender, nationality, job title, highest level of education, and the country where they had completed their highest level of education. However, the average scores of the measurement of depression knowledge were found to be significantly different among participants from different mental health centers (ANOVA, p ˂ 0.001), their genders (ANOVA, p ˂ 0.001), and nationalities (ANOVA, p ˂ 0.001). ...

Dementia in Eastern Mediterranean countries: A systematic review

“…Numerous studies aimed to investigate health professionals’ knowledge and perceptions regarding geriatric peoples and some neurological problems, such as dementia, where several reviews reported a lack of personnel trained in dementia care (Alaama, 2016; Alsenany & Alsaif, 2014; Halabi & Zafar, 2010; Yaghmour et al, 2016). In the KSA, a study found a knowledge deficit among medical students, despite geriatric medicine being introduced into a residency programme in early 2016 (Alaama, 2016).…”

“…The results of focus groups and nursing faculty member surveys suggested that more gerontological content and clinical experiences are needed in the nursing curriculum (Alsenany & Alsaif, 2014). Another study investigated that nurses’ knowledge of dementia, depression and delirium found the need for increased dementia training, as insufficient dementia knowledge was detected among the study’s participants (Yaghmour et al, 2016).…”

“…It is essential that health care professionals become aware of the health intentions shared by people from different sociocultural, religious and linguistic backgrounds to deliver culturally sensitive care (Alsenany & Alsaif, 2012; Boughtwood et al, 2011; Yaghmour et al, 2016). There is a need for research on caregivers of people with dementia in the EM that uses qualitative methods to explore ethnic and cultural values and norms related to caring for people with dementia (Alsenany & Alsaif, 2014; Werner et al, 2015).…”

“…There is a need for research on caregivers of people with dementia in the EM that uses qualitative methods to explore ethnic and cultural values and norms related to caring for people with dementia (Alsenany & Alsaif, 2014; Werner et al, 2015). In addition, it has been suggested that EM communities should work towards reducing illiteracy, raising awareness and developing and evaluating the education of health professionals and the community (Werner et al, 2015; Yaghmour et al, 2016). Many highlighted the demand for shedding light on the nature of dementia and its treatment and for the mobilisation of decision-makers to prioritise dementia awareness among the EM population (Eltallawy et al, 2013a; Werner et al, 2015).…”

“…Two cross-sectional studies that used hospital-based data to assess morbidities and risk factors among older people were included in the review; n = 880 Saudis and n = 5399 Arab Americans (Almodeer, Hassanien, & Jabloun, 2013; Dallo, Ruterbusch, Kirma, Schwartz, & Fakhouri, 2016). In Saudi Arabia, Alaama (2016) assessed 70 medical students’ knowledge of geriatrics, and Yaghmour, Gholizadeh, and Alsenany (2016) explored 265 nurses’ knowledge of dementia. Alsenany and Alsaif (2012) conducted a comparison study that explored the intentions of Saudi ( n = 566) and British ( n = 718) nursing students regarding working with older people.…”