101. Factors associated with public knowledge of and attitudes to dementia: A cross-sectional study
- Author
-
Janine Cooper, Gerard Leavey, Michael Rosato, Paul De Cock, and Paula Devine
- Subjects
Gerontology ,Male ,Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ,Social stigma ,Epidemiology ,Social Stigma ,Antipathy ,Social Sciences ,Geographical locations ,Cultural Anthropology ,0302 clinical medicine ,Sociology ,Risk Factors ,Medicine and Health Sciences ,Public and Occupational Health ,030212 general & internal medicine ,media_common ,Multidisciplinary ,Cancer Risk Factors ,Middle Aged ,Europe ,Religion ,Neurology ,Oncology ,Health Education and Awareness ,Respondent ,Anxiety ,Medicine ,Female ,medicine.symptom ,Psychology ,Research Article ,Adult ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Adolescent ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Science ,Stigma (botany) ,Northern Ireland ,03 medical and health sciences ,Young Adult ,SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being ,Mental Health and Psychiatry ,mental disorders ,medicine ,Dementia ,Humans ,General knowledge ,Social Stratification ,European Union ,Aged ,Stereotyping ,Public health ,medicine.disease ,United Kingdom ,Health Care ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,Medical Risk Factors ,Anthropology ,People and places ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
Introduction:Dementia is a major public health concern but one that continues to be stigmatised. We examine lay knowledge of dementia and attitudes to people with dementia as potential precursors of public anxiety, focusing on the social characteristics associated with (a) the formation of these attitudes, and (b) the perception of the need for restriction and control for people with dementia.Methods:Analysis of the 2014 Northern Ireland Life and Times survey, which included questions on knowledge of, attitudes to and personal experience with dementia. We used (a) latent class analysis and (b) logistic regression to examine factors associated with respondent attitudes towards dementia.Results:Respondents (n = 1211) had relatively good general knowledge of dementia, but limited knowledge of specific risk factors. Negative perceptions of dementia were mitigated somewhat by personal contact. A high proportion of respondents felt that high levels of control were appropriate for people diagnosed with dementia, even at early stages of the disease.Conclusion:Personal antipathy to dementia was highly prevalent despite ongoing public campaigns to increase public awareness of developments in its prevention, treatment and consequent care pathways and hampering efforts to widen social inclusion. Fresh thinking and more resources may be needed to challenge persisting common misapprehension of the condition and the formation of entrenched stigma.
- Published
- 2019