Abstract
Dementia is a progressive and debilitating disease affecting an increasing number of people worldwide. Despite its importance, only a few studies have examined public awareness of dementia. We present a study of the public awareness of dementia in Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil.
Methods:
A sample of 73 individuals answered a questionnaire approved by the Medical Ethics Research Committee inquiring about the characteristics of healthy old-aged and demented individuals.
Results:
Those interviewed believed that dementia is characterized by prevalent memory impairment (41%) and behavioral changes (32.9%) with onset in the 60's or older (42.5%) and upon suspecting dementia, only a few would seek specialized medical help.
Discussion:
Better understanding of public awareness of dementia provides the clue to more effective health and social policies in order to achieve a higher rate of early diagnosis and thereby possibly decreasing patient, family and caregiver distress.
Key words:
dementia; Alzheimer's disease; elderly population; public awareness.
Resumo
Demência é uma síndrome progressiva e inabilitante que afeta um número crescente de pessoas ao redor do mundo. A despeito de sua importância, poucos estudos tem examinado a conhecimento público sobre demência.
Objetivo:
Apresentar um estudo sobre o conhecimento sobre demência em Botucatu, São Paulo, Brasil.
Métodos:
Uma amostra de 73 indivíduos responderam a um questionário, aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa Médica, a respeito das características de indivíduos idosos sadios e pessoas com demência.
Resultados:
Os sujeitos entrevistados acreditavam que a demência se caracteriza por uma prevalente perda de memória (41%) e alterações comportamentais (32.9%) com início aos 60 anos ou mais (42.5%) e, e no caso de suspeita de demência, somente poucos procurariam ajuda médica especializada.
Discussão:
Melhor compreensão do conhecimento público sobre demência fornece pistas para políticas sociais e de saúde mais efetivas a fim de atingir um índice mais alto de diagnóstico precoce e possivelmente diminuir o desgaste do paciente, da família e dos cuidadores.
Palavras-chave:
demência; doença de Alzheimer; população idosa; percepção pública.
Texto completo disponível apenas em PDF.
Full text available only in PDF format.
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Publication Dates
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Publication in this collection
Jul-Sep 2008
History
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Received
30 May 2007 -
Accepted
26 Aug 2008