Knowledge and perceptions of Alzheimer's disease among geriatric nurses, geriatric nurses' practitioners and nursing students working in varied health care settings
 
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1
Jerusalem College of Technology (JCT), Jerusalem, Israel
 
2
Jerusalem College of Technology, Jerusalem, Israel
 
 
Publication date: 2023-04-27
 
 
Popul. Med. 2023;5(Supplement):A67
 
ABSTRACT
Background: The Global action plan on the public health response to dementia 2017-2025, a adopted by World Health Organization, aims to improve the lives of patients with dementia, their families and caregivers, provide comprehensive care, and implement targeted areas of action (WHO, 2017). Caring for patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a subset of dementia, requires specific knowledge, skills, and attitude (Kimzey et al, 2016; World Health Organization, 2020). Assessment of nursing knowledge of, and attitudes related to, caring for AD in different healthcare settings with different levels of education can help create educational programs and change attitudes towards AD patients. Methods: This quantitative, cross-sectional study explores self-reported knowledge related to AD and personal attitude regarding caring for AD patients. The study utilizes the following validated measures: Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS) and the Dementia Attitude Scale (DAS). The study compares between different levels of nursing education and between three healthcare settings: general hospitals, long-term care facilities, and community-based care. Results: Overall mean AKDS score was 78.71%. The highest scores were measured in the community setting, with knowledge graded as 80.45%. The total DAS score among all study participants was 109.56/140 (78%) (SD=15.52). Nursing students’ attitude toward AD patients was the lowest among all participant groups, 103.25/140 (73%) (SD=14.88). By level of education, nursing students report feeling the least comfortable with AD patients, while nurse practitioners are the most engaged and comfortable with AD patients. Conclusions: Nursing students need increased exposure to AD patients in geriatric clinical practice as part of their nursing educational program. More knowledge and positive attitudes will facilitate better care for older adults with AD across all healthcare settings, which promotes the global action plan 2017-2025 among the nursing sector.
ISSN:2654-1459
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