Abstract
BackgroundThe number of individuals with dementia is increasing substantially due to South Korea’s rapidly aging society. Undergraduate nursing students need to have adequate knowledge about dementia to deliver appropriate nursing services. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge about dementia among undergraduate nursing students.MethodsA total of 148 students ranging from freshmen to seniors at a nursing university participated in this study. Data were collected through self-reports using 12-item questionnaires with true/false responses. Knowledge levels about the general characteristics including demographic categories and dementia- related education and training were determined. Factors affecting the score of dementia knowledge were also investigated.ResultsThe average score and standard deviation for knowledge about dementia were 10.26 and 1.24 out of 12 points. They had relatively low knowledge about the “prevention and treatment” and “causes” of dementia, with overall correct rate of 78.6 % and 85.4 %, respectively. Higher level of knowledge about dementia was associated with increase in grade level (p < 0.001), experience in education on dementia (p = 0.01), previous experience in caring for people with dementia during clinical practice (p < 0.001), and acquiring information on dementia (p = 0.02). Factors that influenced knowledge about dementia included grade level and experience in caring for dementia patients during clinical practice.ConclusionsThis study showed that the level of knowledge about dementia among nursing students was reasonably good. Integrating dementia education and clinical experience into the curricula of undergraduates could improve knowledge about the causes, prevention, and treatment methods for dementia.
Highlights
The number of individuals with dementia is increasing substantially due to South Korea’s rapidly aging society
Factors affecting the score of dementia knowledge Our results revealed that factors associated with score of dementia knowledge included grade level and experience with caring for dementia patients during clinical placement
The study revealed that the knowledge level about dementia among undergraduate nursing students was good, with a mean point of 10.26 out of a possible 12 points
Summary
The number of individuals with dementia is increasing substantially due to South Korea’s rapidly aging society. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge about dementia among undergraduate nursing students. There is a worldwide increase in the number of dementia patients [1]. Shin et al BMC Nursing (2015) 14:67 nurses working at training hospitals has mentioned the need to improve the level of knowledge about dementia because participants only can score 10.8 points out of 16 points [6]. Another study on nurses working in departments related to dementia has reported that nurses need to improve their knowledge in several areas, including effective communication skills with people with dementia and behavioral assessment [7]. Knowledge about caring for dementia patients and practical education of Korean nurses who work at general and long-term care hospitals was ranked the third among nursing requirements [8]
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