Effects of a 6-Week Integrated Dementia Awareness and Prevention Program for Community-Dwelling Older Adults

초록

Older adults show a lack of knowledge about dementia, treatments, and management although they are fearful of developing dementia. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 6-week intervention on knowledge, attitude, fear, and prevention behaviors concerning dementia among older adults who resided in community. The study used a pretest-posttest design with nonequivalent control group. A total of 40 participants completed the study. The intervention group showed a significant decrease in the fear of dementia scores compared to the control group after the intervention(p < .05). However, no significant differences were found between the groups with respect to knowledge, attitude toward dementia, and healthy prevention behaviors. The intervention may be effective in decreasing older adults&#039; negative emotions concerning dementia, particularly, fear. The assessment of the fear toward dementia may help identify individual causes and triggers and provide tailored interventions.

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