The knowledge and attitude of Nepalese nursing students towards dementia

Ranjana Khatiwada; Siman Lyu; Haocheng Wang; Sushila Devi Bhandari; Yu Liu

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19247

The knowledge and attitude of Nepalese nursing students towards dementia

Heliyon. 2023 Aug 19;9(8):e19247. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19247. eCollection 2023 Aug.

Authors

Ranjana Khatiwada¹, Siman Lyu², Haocheng Wang³, Sushila Devi Bhandari⁴, Yu Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Nursing, China Medical University, No.77 Puhe Road, Shenyang North New Area, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, 110122, China.
² Beijing Chaoyang Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
³ Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT 06459, USA.
⁴ Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences, College of Nursing, Bhandarkhal, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Abstract

Background: As aging is a significant risk factor for dementia, the number of persons with dementia is growing annually as a result of the aging population, which implies the need for better geriatric care services in terms of both quantity and quality.

Methods: The knowledge and attitudes of Nepalese nursing students (n = 177) concerning dementia were examined using a descriptive correlational research approach. Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS) and Dementia Attitude Scale (DAS) were used to measure students' knowledge and attitude of dementia.

Results and discussion: The overall mean score of the ADKS was found to be 19.64 (SD = 3.363) out of 30, while the total mean score on dementia attitude of the DAS was 93.82 (SD = 10.09) out of 140. A positive relationship was established between the knowledge and the attitude scores (r = 0.148, P = 0.050), demonstrating limited knowledge and positive attitude towards people with dementia in nursing students.

Keywords: Attitudes; Dementia; Demographic factors; Knowledge; Nursing students.