A comparative study of dementia knowledge, attitudes and care approach among Chinese nursing and medical students

Yao Wang,Lily Dongxia Xiao,Rong Huang

doi:10.1186/s12909-020-02365-1

Yao Wang, Lily Dongxia Xiao + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02365-1

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Abstract

BackgroundDementia care requires inter-disciplinary collaboration starting from formal health professional education. Yet, little is known about how undergraduate medical and nursing students perceive dementia care in China. The aim of this study was to investigate undergraduate medical and nursing students’ dementia knowledge, attitudes and care approach in China.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted. Students enrolled in a 5-year Bachelor of Medicine Program and a 4-year Bachelor of Nursing Program from four universities with campuses across Eastern, Western, Southern and Northern China were recruited into the study. Three validated instruments, Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS), Dementia Care Attitude Scale (DCAS) and Approach to Advanced Dementia Care Questionnaire (ADCQ), were used to examine students’ dementia knowledge, attitudes and perceived care approach. Data were collected using a self-administered survey.ResultsThe number of medical and nursing students completing the survey was 526 and 467 respectively. Students’ overall knowledge about dementia was poor, but attitudes were generally positive. The overall mean score of students’ dementia knowledge examined by the ADKS was 19.49 (SD = 2.82) out of 30, students’ attitudes to dementia was 29.92(SD = 3.35) out of 40, and students’ person-centred care approach of dementia was 5.42 (SD = 2.20) out of 13. Medical students demonstrated higher dementia knowledge scores and showed less positive attitude scores than nursing students (p < 0.05). Students would not apply a person-centred care approach. There were no statistically significant differences in the mean scores of ADCQ between nursing students and medical students.ConclusionsStudy results highlight the urgent need to implement an inter-disciplinary approach to increasing dementia education among Chinese medical and nursing students, and ensuring that students have adequate knowledge, attitudes and experience in the care of people with dementia.

Highlights

Dementia care requires inter-disciplinary collaboration starting from formal health professional education
Attitudes and care approach The results revealed that gender, major, clinical practicum experience in geriatrics, dementia education or training, and interest in learning more about dementia
Our study found that the knowledge scores of nursing and medical students in China are significantly lower than their counterparts in Malta and US using the Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS) [25, 28]

Summary

Introduction

Dementia care requires inter-disciplinary collaboration starting from formal health professional education. There are more than 50 million of people living with dementia across the world and this number is expected to rise rapidly to over 152 million by 2050 [1]. The population of people with dementia in China is expected to rise dramatically from 9.5 million in 2016 to over 16 million by 2030 [3]. There is an urgent need to improve the healthcare for people living with dementia around the world and in the future. More than 50% of people living with dementia in developed countries are under-detected and under-diagnosed [3]. Even when people with dementia receive a diagnosis, the care provided is often uncoordinated, fragmented and unresponsive to individual needs [3, 6]

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