Background: Dementia remains a public health concern and a leading cause of disability and dependency among older people worldwide. However, the knowledge and attitudes towards dementia among university students remain unknown. This study assessed the knowledge and attitude towards dementia among university students in Uganda.
Methods: An online descriptive, cross-sectional study was undertaken from August to November 2020, among undergraduate students from 11 Ugandan universities. A validated study questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, and attitudes of dementia. A score < 60% was considered poor knowledge while ≥ 80% good knowledge and more than 80% reflected positive attitudes.
Results: Overall, 1005 participants with a median age of 23 (interquartile range: 18 to 35) years participated in the study. The majority of the students were male (56.5%, n=568) and nearly half were pursuing human sciences/medicine-related programs. The mean knowledge score was 65.5% (SD± 18.5). Thirty-two percent of the study participants had poor knowledge and only 26.8% (n=269) had good knowledge of dementia. More than half of the study participants believed that dementia is a normal part of aging and that memory loss happens to all people as they age. Attitudes towards patients with dementia were positive with a mean score of 81.9% (SD± 19.6) and 65.2% of the study participants had positive dementia attitudes. Those aged more than 24 years were significantly associated with positive attitudes (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.5, 95% CI: 1.1– 2.0, p=0.019). There was a weak correlation between knowledge and attitude scores (ρ=0.341, p< 0.001).
Conclusion: Whereas the majority of university students have positive attitudes towards patients with dementia, a significant number still have poor knowledge of the same. Continuous health education is suggested to improve knowledge of dementia in this population. Further studies to understand the perception in the general population are recommended.



中文翻译：

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乌干达本科生对痴呆症知识和态度的评估

背景：痴呆症仍然是一个公共卫生问题，也是全世界老年人残疾和依赖的主要原因。然而，大学生对痴呆症的知识和态度仍然未知。本研究评估了乌干达大学生对痴呆症的知识和态度。
方法：从 2020 年 8 月到 2020 年 11 月，对来自乌干达 11 所大学的本科生进行了一项在线描述性横断面研究。使用经过验证的研究问卷来收集有关痴呆症的社会人口特征、知识和态度的数据。分数 < 60% 被认为知识不足，而 ≥ 80% 的知识很好，超过 80% 则反映了积极的态度。
结果：总体而言，1005 名中位年龄为 23 岁（四分位间距：18 至 35 岁）的参与者参与了这项研究。大多数学生是男性（56.5%，n=568），近一半学生攻读与人文科学/医学相关的课程。平均知识得分为 65.5% (SD± 18.5)。32% 的研究参与者对痴呆症知之甚少，只有 26.8% (n=269) 的人对痴呆症知之甚少。超过一半的研究参与者认为，痴呆症是衰老的正常现象，随着年龄的增长，所有人都会发生记忆力减退。对痴呆症患者的态度是积极的，平均得分为 81.9% (SD± 19.6)，65.2% 的研究参与者对痴呆症持积极态度。24 岁以上的人与积极态度显着相关（调整后的比值比 (AOR)：1.5，95% CI：1.1–2.0，p=0。019). 知识和态度得分之间存在弱相关性（ρ =0.341，p<0.001）。
结论：虽然大多数大学生对痴呆症患者持积极态度，但仍有相当一部分人对此知之甚少。建议持续进行健康教育，以提高该人群对痴呆症的认识。建议进一步研究以了解一般人群的看法。