Background and Objectives

Due to the concern over global rising rates of dementia, increased emphasis has been placed on understanding and moulding the public’s knowledge and awareness of the condition. There has been limited previous research into predictors of dementia knowledge; overall knowledge amongst the public is low, and it has been widely agreed that more needs to be done to raise awareness of this condition. This study seeks to solidify understanding of public dementia knowledge and introduces dementia worry, motivation to seek information and risk perception as novel concomitants of this knowledge.

Research Design and Methods

A convenience sample of 311 UK adults completed a survey on dementia knowledge including Alzheimer’s disease-specific questions, worry about developing dementia, motivation to seek information and perceived personal risk of getting the disease. Surveys were completed face-to-face and included both closed and open-ended questions.

Results

Overall dementia knowledge scores were low, achieving an average of 33% of the total possible score, with 88% of the sample scoring below 50%. Bivariate correlations were performed between dementia knowledge and key variables, revealing significant positive relationships with risk perception (r = 0.179, p = .002), worry (r = 0.140, p = .016) and motivation to seek information (r = 0.139, p = .016). When knowledge was dichotomised into high and low, worry about (p = .28) and perceived risk (p = .19) of dementia was significantly lower for people with low knowledge scores than for people with higher dementia knowledge scores. Motivation to seek information was not significantly different between the high and low knowledge groups (p = .071).

Discussion and Implications

Despite the relatively low knowledge scores, findings show a positive relationship between modifiable factors and dementia knowledge, suggesting areas to consider for both further research and publication campaigns. Further implications and limitations of this study are discussed.

中文翻译：

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风险、担忧和动机：痴呆症的公众知识是如何形成的？

背景和目标

由于对全球痴呆症发病率上升的担忧，人们越来越重视理解和塑造公众对痴呆症的认识和认识。以前对痴呆症知识预测因素的研究有限；公众的整体知识水平很低，人们普遍认为需要做更多工作来提高对这种情况的认识。本研究旨在巩固对公共痴呆症知识的理解，并将痴呆症担忧、寻求信息的动机和风险感知作为该知识的新伴随物。

研究设计和方法

对 311 名英国成年人的便利样本完成了一项关于痴呆症知识的调查，包括阿尔茨海默病特定问题、对发展痴呆症的担忧、寻求信息的动机和感知到的个人患病风险。调查是面对面完成的，包括封闭式和开放式问题。

结果

总体痴呆知识分数较低，平均达到总可能分数的 33%，其中 88% 的样本得分低于 50%。在痴呆症知识和关键变量之间进行了双变量相关，揭示了与风险感知（r = 0.179，p = .002）、担忧（r = 0.140，p = .016）和寻求信息的动机（r = 0.139，p = .016）。当知识分为高低时，担心（p = .28）和感知风险（p =.19) 知识分数低的人明显低于痴呆知识分数高的人。高知识组和低知识组之间寻求信息的动机没有显着差异（p = .071）。

讨论和启示

尽管知识分数相对较低，但研究结果显示可改变因素与痴呆症知识之间存在正相关关系，这表明进一步研究和出版活动需要考虑的领域。讨论了本研究的进一步影响和局限性。