Extent of and influences on knowledge of Alzheimer's disease among undergraduate medical students

Cardio-Oncologic Knowledge of Nurses in the Oncology Service: A Multi-Center Survey in China

Purpose

Elucidation of the cardio-oncologic knowledge among the oncology nurses of tertiary hospitals in Shanxi Province to provide better insights and directions for management by nursing managers.

Background

China's National Health and Wellness Commission issued the Action Plan for Further Improving Nursing Services in June 2023, which requires nurses to provide patients with physical and mental holistic nursing services, such as medical care, condition observation, assistance with treatment, and health guidance. Most oncology patients are treated with chemotherapy, but the modality can cause greater harm to patients, especially cardiotoxicity. How to provide precise care for chemotherapy patients is a problem for nursing managers.

Methods

In order to investigate the level of cardio-oncologic knowledge among the oncology nurses of tertiary care hospitals in Shanxi Province, China, a questionnaire was created based on the relevant literature and the provided instructions on cardio-oncology. The chi-squared test was performed for multiple comparisons of the level of knowledge of disease observation, health guidance, and implementation of treatment. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to analyze the correlation between the levels of cardio-oncologic knowledge and general information of hospitals and nurses.

Results

Cardio-oncology awareness among the oncology nurses was 0.1%-44.7%, the awareness rate of single dimension was 0 to 3.9%, and overall awareness rate was 0. A partially significant difference was revealed in the two-by-two comparisons of the awareness rates of the three dimensions of disease observation, health guidance, and implementation of treatment (P < 0.05). A correlation was observed between the cardio-oncologic knowledge and some of the hospital and the nurses' general information data (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Oncology nurses exhibited a low rate of awareness related to cardio-oncology. Hospitals could establish oncology nursing teams to train the oncology nurses to promote their cardio-oncologic knowledge and ensure the quality of daily care provided by these nurses.

Dementia-related contact experience, attitudes, and the level of knowledge in medical vocational college students

BACKGROUND

Dementia is a severe neurological and psychological disease that occurs in older adults worldwide. The knowledge and attitude of medical-vocational college students play an important role in supporting primary healthcare systems.

AIM

To investigate the level of knowledge, contact experience, and attitudes toward dementia among medical-vocational college students in China.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted, and 3-year medical and medical-related students from eight vocational colleges in Anhui province were recruited. The contact experience, attitudes, and knowledge level of students toward dementia were assessed using a questionnaire designed according to the Chinese version of the Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS).

RESULTS

A total of 2444 medical and medical-related students completed the survey, of whom 86.7% of respondents had interests and concerns regarding Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and 29.2% of respondents had experiences of contact with dementia patients. Overall attitudes toward dementia were negative. Only 35.4% of students were interested in participating in the caregiving of dementia patients. The mean score of students’ knowledge about AD as assessed by the ADKS was 21.16 (standard deviation, 3.43) out of 30.

CONCLUSION

Dementia-related knowledge of medical-vocational college students was at a medium level, and their overall attitudes toward dementia were negative.