Dementia education and training for the general public: A scoping review

The lack of public awareness and understanding of dementia affects the experiences of people living with dementia and their families. Dementia education and training for the general public have been gradually disseminated. We conducted a systematic scoping review guided by PRISMA-ScR to map existing evidence and identify dementia education and training available to the general public. From the four electronic databases, 41 articles were identified. Dementia education has three main purposes: dementia friendliness (n = 25), early diagnosis/help-seeking (n = 10), and prevention (n = 6). Education aimed at dementia friendliness was delivered in the community (n = 6), schools/universities (n =14), workplaces (n = 2), and online (n = 3). Interventions aimed at early diagnosis and prevention were often conducted in communities with middle-aged and older people or specific ethnic groups. Eleven dementia-friendliness studies reported on the interaction with people living with dementia to reduce stigma. Dementia knowledge, attitudes, and preventive behaviors were assessed as outcomes. Though randomized controlled trials were conducted in early diagnosis and prevention studies via e-learning, they were not performed in dementia-friendliness studies. Therefore, there is a need to further accumulate evidence of dementia education for each of these purposes.

General practitioners' knowledge, practices, and obstacles in the diagnosis and management of dementia

OBJECTIVES

To identify general practitioners' (GPs) knowledge, practices, and obstacles with regard to the diagnosis and management of dementia.

METHODS

Standardized questionnaires covering knowledge, practices, and obstacles were distributed among a purposive sample of GPs in Kathmandu, Nepal. Three hundred and eighty GPs responded (response rate = 89%).

RESULTS

Knowledge of practitioners' with regard to the diagnosis and management of dementia was unsatisfactory (<50%). Diagnosis and management barriers are presented with regard to GP, patient, and carer factors. Specifically, the results address the following issues: communicating the diagnosis, negative views of dementia, difficulty diagnosing early-stage dementia, acceptability of specialists, responsibility for extra issues, knowledge of dementia and aging, less awareness of declining abilities, diminished resources to handle care, lack of specific guidelines, and poor awareness of epidemiology.

CONCLUSIONS

Demographic changes mean that dementia will represent a significant problem in the future. The following paper outlines the problems and solutions that the Nepalese medical community needs to adopt to deal effectively with diagnosis, care, and management of dementia.