Relationships between the understanding of dementia and help-seeking attitude of Chinese adults and elderly in Hong Kong

Abstract

Dementia is a syndrome characterized by the progressive loss or deterioration of cognitive abilities in one or multiple cognitive domains. Dementia is predicted to be a major cause of disability that creates heavy socio-economic pressure in society. However, little is known about the current understanding of and help-seeking attitude for dementia among adults and the elderly in Hong Kong. Therefore, the first aim of the study was to explore the current level of understanding, including knowledge and illness perception of dementia, and help-seeking attitude of the general public in Hong Kong. 108 older adults and 247younger adults were recruited to participate in the study. They were asked to complete measures assessing their level of dementia knowledge, illness perceptions of dementia, and help-seeking intentions. Results showed that the overall level of dementia knowledge among the participants was fair and there were a number of misunderstandings about the symptoms, course of development, and causes of dementia. The second aim was to explore the correlates and relationships between understanding of dementia and help-seeking attitude. Results showed that identification of dementia symptoms predicted help-seeking intention from professional sources when mild and moderate severity dementia were presented. The third aim was to assess whether brief psychoeducation on dementia increased help-seeking intentions. After older adults were given brief psychoeducation on dementia, their understanding of dementia and help-seeking attitude were assessed. Results showed that the intervention significantly increased participant’s level of dementia knowledge but not help-seeking intentions. Clinical implications were discussed.