Dementia Literacy and Its Link to Public Attitudes towards Dementia in Flanders: A Cross-Sectional Survey among Health Professionals, Family Caregivers, and the General Public
Background: The stigma towards dementia
has an impact on the quality of life of the people living with the condition as
well as their caregivers. However, to date, little is known about the public
attitudes towards dementia and dementia literacy in Flanders, the
Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. With the present study, we aim to fill that
gap. Methods: An online questionnaire was created, consisting of
sociodemographic questions and the Dutch translations of the Dementia Knowledge
Attribute Scale (DKAS) and the Dementia Attitudes Scale (DAS). Respondents were
divided into three clusters: health professionals, family caregivers, and the
general public. Demographic information and exposure to dementia were surveyed
as well. The survey was disseminated online targeting Flemish adults in all
three clusters. The data from the two validated surveys and the demographic
information were analysed by means of descriptive statistics and bivariate
correlations. Finally, our findings regarding knowledge and attitudes are
compared cross-culturally to findings of previous research using the same
validated scales (DKAS and DAS). Results: Our final sample contained
6351 valid answers across the three clusters: the general public (N = 3094),
health professionals (N = 1686), and family caregivers (N = 1196). The findings
indicate a knowledge gap concerning “Risk and Health Promotion” in Flanders.
Our comparison between the three clusters show that health professionals had
the highest attitudes scores, as well as the best overall dementia knowledge
scores. The correlation analysis also revealed that dementia exposure in the
general population increased attitude and knowledge scores. A comparison of
recent literature reveals a large variation in dementia knowledge and dementia
attitudes cross-culturally. Conclusion: The present study shows that
there is still room for improvement concerning dementia knowledge and attitudes
in Flanders. It also shows the importance of campaigns and training programmes
specifically tailored for each cluster separately.
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