Level of understanding of Alzheimer disease among caregivers and the general population

Effect of the Caregivers-to-Caregivers Training Programme on informed caregivers of persons with mental disorders: A pilot study

OBJECTIVE

Many people with mental disorders are cared for by informed caregivers, but they usually have limited care-related training and lack caregiving capacity and support networks. In order to provide professional training and social support for informed caregivers, we designed the Caregivers-to-Caregivers Training Programme (C2C) and performed a pilot study to assess its effect.

METHODS

Caregivers of persons with mental disorders who participated in the C2C were asked to participate in a quasi-experimental study to assess their knowledge and skills development, self-care ability, trainer engagement, and training content. A total of 800 participants completed self-designed evaluation questionnaires and two open-ended questions to gather suggestions and feedback. Assessments were carried out at pretest (baseline), post-test, and at 2-month follow-up. Results were analyzed using one-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and pairwise comparison method.

RESULTS

At post-test, 667 assessments were considered valid and 515 were deemed valid at 2-month follow-up. One-way repeated-measures ANOVA showed that the main effect of the scores on knowledge and skills development and self-care ability from baseline to 2-month follow-up was significant (p < .001). Results of pairwise comparison method showed that the scores on each item of knowledge and skills development and self-care ability at post-test and at 2-month follow up were higher than those at baseline (p < .001). The scores on items of trainer engagement and training content were all above average (4/5). The open-ended questions resulted in 678 comments indicating that participants gained significant support from other caregivers and healthcare professionals in the alliance and wanted more and continuously updated material.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated that C2C effectively improved the development of caregivers' knowledge, skills, and their self-care ability. Available social support for caregivers was better than average, including professional support and peer support.

The Mediating Role of Attitudes Towards Dementia on the Relationship Between Dementia Knowledge and Behaviors Towards Persons with Dementia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Purpose

To examine the mediating effect of attitudes towards dementia on the relationship between dementia knowledge and behaviors towards persons with dementia.

Participants and Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 313 adults (age ≤ 20 years). Participants were recruited using non-probability convenience sampling from medical clinics, community centers, and supermarkets located in the Wanhua District of Taipei City. Data were collected with the following self-report questionnaires: a demographic survey, validated instruments for dementia knowledge and attitudes towards dementia (assessed using the Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Scale and the Approaches to Dementia Questionnaire, respectively), and a researcher-developed survey on unfriendly behaviors towards persons with dementia.

Results

Pearson's correlation and multiple linear regression analysis indicated that higher scores for dementia knowledge and more positive attitudes about dementia were significantly associated with lower levels of unfriendly behaviors towards persons living with dementia. Mediation analysis using a robust bootstrap test with 5000 samples indicated that attitudes toward dementia had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between dementia knowledge and unfriendly behaviors.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that increasing public awareness and knowledge about dementia could help the general population develop better attitudes towards dementia, which could subsequently help improve behaviors towards persons living with dementia.

Self-perceived care needs and quality of life in people with cognitive impairment during routine care at home: cross-sectional results of the interventional study

BACKGROUND

Cognitive impairment (CI) is one of the most common disabling symptoms in the elderly, and people with CI face a variety of unmet care needs. There is limited evidence on the relationship between unmet needs and quality of life (QoL) of people with CI. The aim of this study is to analyse the current situation of unmet needs and QoL among people with CI, and to explore the correlation between QoL and unmet needs.

METHODS

The analyses use baseline data of the intervention trial, which recruited 378 participants to complete the questionnaire including the Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly (CANE), and the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form (SF-36). The SF-36 was further gathered into physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS). Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to explore the correlations between unmet care needs and PCS and MCS of SF-36.

RESULTS

The mean score of each of the eight domains of SF-36 was significantly lower than the Chinese population norm. The incidence of unmet needs ranged from 0 to 65.1%. Multiple linear regression results showed that living in rural areas (Beta=-0.16, P < 0.001), having unmet physical needs (Beta=-0.35, P < 0.001), and unmet psychological needs (Beta=-0.24, P < 0.001) were associated with lower PCS scores, whereas duration of CI > 2 years (Beta=-0.21, P < 0.001), unmet environmental needs (Beta=-0.20, P < 0.001), and unmet psychological needs (Beta=-0.15, P < 0.001) were associated with lower MCS scores.

CONCLUSION

The main results support the important view that lower QoL scores are associated with unmet needs in people with CI, depending on the domain. Given that the more unmet needs can further worsen QoL, it is recommended that more strategies should be taken, especially for those with unmet care needs, so as to improve their QoL.

Testing the knowledge of Alzheimer's disease via an intervention study among community health service center staff in Jiaxing, China

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the knowledge status of Alzheimer's disease (AD) among community health service center (CHSC) staff in Jiaxing, China, and to compare the effects of online with offline training.

Methods

A total of 763 people from 12 community health service centers were investigated using a self-created general situation questionnaire and the Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS). Among the participants, 261 people who were willing to receive training were randomly divided into two groups according to the institution in which they worked to receive online or offline training, respectively.

Results

The average ADKS score was 19.77, and the awareness rate was 65.92%; the results for every field were as follows: treatment and management (81.32%); life impact (77.76%); disease course (75.23%); assessment and diagnosis (68.94%); risk factors (65.05%); symptoms (57.90%); caregiving (44.06%). Education and profession had impacts on the total ADKS scores (P < 0.05). A total of 261 people participated in the training, and there were significant differences in ADKS scores before and after training (P < 0.05). Before the training, there was no significant difference in ADKS score between the two groups; after the training, either (P > 0.05). There were significant differences in the ADKS scores after training in both groups (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Community health service center staff in Jiaxing had limited knowledge of AD, particularly in the "symptom" and "caregiving" dimensions. One instance of training on AD-related knowledge to some degree helped to improve this but still fell short of meeting the national requirements. No significant differences were found between offline and online training effects.

Knowledge About Dementia Among Family Caregivers With a Turkish or Moroccan Immigrant Background: Development and Validation of a Dementia Knowledge Scale

Objective:

To describe the development and validation of the Dementia Knowledge Scale (DKS) among family caregivers with a Turkish or Moroccan immigrant background.

Methods:

The 11 items of the DKS, selected by professionals and people with a Turkish or Moroccan background, were translated and adapted in Turkish and Dutch. The feasibility, comprehensibility and appropriateness of the 2 language versions were examined. Subsequently, both languages were assessed among caregivers from these groups. The internal consistency of both language versions was determined by calculating Cronbach’s α. The known group validity was determined by comparing mean scores between subgroups.

Results:

Both language versions of the DKS were considered feasible, comprehensible, and appropriate. A total of 117 caregivers with a Turkish background completed the Turkish version of the DKS and 110 with a Moroccan background the Dutch version. The Turkish version showed adequate internal consistency but the Dutch version did not. No differences were found in mean scores between those with a low level of education versus those with a higher level; those who frequently provided care versus those who did so less frequently; and those who lived together with a person with dementia versus those who did not.

Conclusions:

The DKS is feasible, comprehensible and reliable and can be used among groups with an immigrant background.

Practice Implications:

The DKS provides insight into various aspects of dementia knowledge, including knowledge about risk factors and symptoms, among caregivers with a Turkish or Moroccan background, and thereby supports the development of tailored education for these groups.

Reliability and validity evaluation of the chinese version of the ethical sensitivity questionnaire for nursing students

BACKGROUND

Advances in technology and the expansion of nursing roles have led to complex ethical issues in nursing. Nursing students are the future clinical nursing workers and practitioners. The ethical sensitivity of nursing students is very important to the professional development of nursing students, which can strengthen the ethical cognition of nursing students, improve the ethical decision-making ability of nursing students, and is beneficial to the development of nursing students in the process of clinical practice and nursing education. However, there are no instruments to evaluate the ethical sensitivity of nursing students in China. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the Ethical Sensitivity Questionnaire for Nursing Students (ESQ-NS).

METHODS

After obtaining the authorization of the author of the original scale, the study used the Brislin back-translation method for translation. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed to examine the underlying factor structure of the translated questionnaire. The Cronbach alpha coefficient, the test-retest reliability, and the corrected item-total correlation were calculated to verify the internal consistency of the scale.

RESULTS

The Chinese version of ESQ-NS retained 13 items. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) extracts four common factors, and the cumulative variance contribution rate is 62.479%. The CFA reached the adaptive standard, and the discriminant validity of the scale was good. The Cronbach alpha coefficient of this scale was 0.821, and 4 dimensions were between 0.708 and 0.738. The results of the test-retest showed that Pearson's correlation coefficient of the overall ESQ-NS was 0.814. Corrected item-total correlation ranged from 0.337 to 0.542.

CONCLUSIONS

The Chinese version of the ESQ-NS has good reliability and validity, which can be used to evaluate the level of ethical sensitivity of nursing students in China.