Year: 2008
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: We surveyed a convenience sample of 255 Asian Indian Americans (AIAs) aged eighteen to eighty-one years that assessed their perceptions of dementia etiology, help seeking, and treatment and their knowledge of symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD).In response to a vignette describing the early stages of AD, participants indicated a substantial willingness to seek help.Most participants knew that memory loss was the key symptom of dementia, yet most knowledge items were correctly answered by fewer than half of the sample.Participants who had more knowledge of AD were more likely than those with less knowledge of AD to state that they would seek help for an elderly relative showing symptoms of dementia.Relative to other psychosocial factors, loneliness was highly rated as an etiological factor and keeping mentally active was highly rated as a treatment.This study is the first to document dementia beliefs among AIAs, illustrating the need for culturally tailored dementia education and care for the AIA population.
Authors: Poorni Otilingam, Margaret Gatz
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funder: National Institutes of Health
OpenAlex ID: W2181593675