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The effect of a dementia awareness class on changing dementia attitudes in adolescents

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posted on 2023-06-07, 07:11 authored by Nicolas Farina, Laura Hughes, Ellen Jones, Sahdia Parveen, Alys W Griffiths, Kathleen Galvin, Sube Banerjee
Background Current evidence suggests that negative and stigmatising attitudes towards dementia may develop at a young age. There are a number of dementia education and awareness initiatives aimed at reducing stigma, though they have not been robustly evaluated to establish the impact on dementia attitudes or suitability in adolescent populations. This study explored the efficacy and satisfaction of one such initiative (Dementia Friends) in a British adolescent sample. Methods 301 adolescents (M?=?12.6?years old, SD?=?0.73) were assigned to either receive Dementia Friends (a 60-min interactive class that teaches about dementia and its effects on people’s lives) or education as usual. All participants completed a series of validated questionnaires pre- and post-intervention, related to dementia attitudes (Brief A-ADS and KIDS). Results Adolescents in the dementia awareness group showed little to no improvements between time-points. The change scores in the dementia awareness group did not significantly differ to the control group based on both KIDS (d?=?-?0.003, p?=?0.98) and Brief A-ADS (d?=?0.14, p?=?0.13) measures. There was no Group x Time effect after controlling for confounding variables. Conclusions Dementia Friends is successful in terms of reach and impact, though this study suggests that it may fall short of achieving its goal of improving attitudes towards dementia. Importantly, Dementia Friends did not have a negative effect on attitudes, and the majority of adolescents enjoyed the sessions. It is important that these findings are replicated in a larger randomised-controlled study.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

BMC Geriatrics

ISSN

1471-2318

Publisher

BMC

Volume

20

Page range

1-9

Article number

a188

Department affiliated with

  • BSMS Neuroscience Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2020-06-04

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2020-06-04

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2020-06-03

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