Abstract
BackgroundOne of the major challenges worldwide is the stigma associated with dementia. There is limited dementia awareness within Malaysian communities, including levels of confusion regarding the differences between dementia and the usual ageing progress, which can lead to delays in support seeking. The need for additional training and education for healthcare professionals has been highlighted. The present study aimed to evaluate the benefits of a one-hour dementia education session (Dementia Detectives workshop) for pharmacy and medicine undergraduate students at a Malaysian university.MethodsParticipants attended the workshop and completed pre- (Time 1) and post-workshop (Time 2) questionnaires consisting of validated measures exploring attitudes towards dementia and older people more broadly.ResultsA total of 97 students were recruited. Attitudes towards people with dementia showed significant positive changes between Time 1 and Time 2, whereas no differences were found for attitudes towards older people.ConclusionsAs medical and pharmacy students develop theoretical knowledge, practical skills and professional attitudes during their undergraduate studies, it is important for students to also learn about the humanistic side of diseases and conditions through workshops such as the one presented here. Further research should now be conducted to consider how Dementia Detectives can be delivered to non-healthcare students and what the barriers and facilitators to wider delivery are.
Highlights
IntroductionThere is limited dementia awareness within Malaysian communities, including levels of confusion regarding the differences between dementia and the usual ageing progress, which can lead to delays in support seeking
One of the major challenges worldwide is the stigma associated with dementia
In 2010, 58% of people with dementia resided in LMICs and this is set to rise to 63% by 2030, and 71% by 2050 [2]
Summary
There is limited dementia awareness within Malaysian communities, including levels of confusion regarding the differences between dementia and the usual ageing progress, which can lead to delays in support seeking. Dementia is the largest challenge for health and social care worldwide [1]. There are concerns about whether Malaysia is able to provide quality health and social care to support people with dementia [6], and broader concerns regarding how prepared Malaysian families are to care for relatives with dementia [7], as most experience moderate burden when caring for a relative with dementia [8]. Dementia awareness is limited within Malaysian communities, including confusion regarding the differences between dementia and the usual ageing progress, which can lead to delays in seeking support or medical intervention [7]. There is a lack of psychiatric and social support available for people with dementia in Malaysia, those who live in rural areas [6]
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