Evaluation of knowledge and attitudes regarding Alzheimer's disease and related dementia among medical students in Palestine: A cross-sectional study

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 19; no. 5; p. e0304012
• Main Authors: Abuawad, Mohammad, Rjoub, Ahmad, Dumaidi, Yazan, Daraghma, Motaz, Ghanim, Mustafa, Rabayaa, Maha, Amer, Johnny
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 17-05-2024; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adult; Alzheimer Disease - psychology; Alzheimer's disease; Analysis; Arabs - psychology; Attitudes; Biology and Life Sciences; China; Cognition; Cognitive ability; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data collection; Dementia; Dementia - epidemiology; Dementia - psychology; Dementia disorders; Disease; Diseases; Executive function; Female; Global health; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Knowledge; Likert scale; Male; Medical education; Medical schools; Medical students; Medicine and Health Sciences; Middle East - epidemiology; Motor skill; Neurodegenerative diseases; Palestinian Territories; People and Places; Public health; Questionnaires; Research and Analysis Methods; Social interactions; Social Sciences; Sociodemographics; Students; Students, Medical - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Training evaluation; World health; Young Adult; Middle East; China; Palestinian Territories; Gaza Strip; State of Palestine
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304012

Dementia, a major global health concern, is an acquired disorder that causes a progressive decline in cognitive abilities, affecting learning and memory, language, executive function, complex attention, perceptual-motor skills, and social cognition. Our study aims to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes regarding dementia and Alzheimer's disease among medical students.
This cross-sectional study was conducted among 393 medical students in Palestine from August 2023 to November 2023. The assessment of knowledge and attitude toward dementia was measured using the Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS) and Dementia Attitude Scale (DAS). The data were analyzed using SPSS version 26, and the Mann-Whitney U-test and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used to compare the mean between the groups with a 5% significance level.
The overall mean score of the student's knowledge of dementia measured by the ADKS was 18.91 (±3.32 SD) out of 30. The mean score of the student's attitude toward dementia measured by the DAS was 91.68 (±3.32 SD). Clinical students had higher ADKS scores than pre-clinical students (p-value < 0.001). No significant differences in the knowledge and attitudes toward dementia were found between males and females. The medical students' knowledge and attitude scores were positively correlated (ρ = 0.227, p-value <0.001).
Palestinian medical student's knowledge about Alzheimer's disease and dementia is insufficient, with students in the clinical phase showing better understanding than pre-clinical students. The findings highlight a necessity for enhancing the dementia curriculum and conducting further studies to evaluate training's impact on students' knowledge and attitudes.