College students’ and community members’ attitudes toward dementia: The impact of dementia friends sessions

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: Negative attitudes toward dementia can delay care and diagnosis, increase social isolation, and limit recognition of the positive attributes of people living with dementia. The purpose of this project was to explore whether Dementia Friends sessions affected attitudes toward people living with dementia. Dementia Friends is a program which includes basic information about dementia that was developed by the Alzheimer’s Society in the United Kingdom and is now offered in the United States. Participants: For this study, 101 adults ages 18 years and older were recruited from local universities and the surrounding community in northern Minnesota. The participants were asked to participate in a one-hour Dementia Friends information session and complete the Dementia Attitudes Scale (DAS) immediately before and after the session. The sample was divided into two sectors (university student or non-student). Results: Eighty participants completed the DAS, and statistically significant positive changes occurred in pre and posttest scores. Both social comfort and dementia knowledge, the two factors measured by the DAS, showed statistically significant positive increases. No correlations were observed between the mean score change and age or sector. Implications: These findings suggest that participation in Dementia Friends information sessions can positively affect participants’ attitudes toward dementia.