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Knowledge of dementia among South Asian (Indian) older people in Manchester, UK
Author(s) -
Purandare Nitin,
Luthra Vikram,
Swarbrick Caroline,
Burns Alistair
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.1740
Subject(s) - dementia , older people , medicine , irish , south asia , ethnic group , gerontology , epidemiology , disease , history , sociology , linguistics , philosophy , ethnology , anthropology
Objectives The aim of this study was to examine knowledge of dementia in South Asian older people, as compared with Caucasian older people. Methods Attendees, not known to suffer from dementia, of one South Asian and two predominantly Caucasian day centres for older people in Manchester (UK) were asked to complete the Dementia Knowledge Questionnaire (DKQ). The DKQ was translated into Gujarathi and Urdu by the professional translators. Results One hundred and ninety‐one DKQs from Indian and 55 DKQs from Caucasian (white UK/Irish/European) older people were included in the analyses. Knowledge of dementia was poor in both Indian and Caucasian older people, especially so in the former. The median (25th–75th percentile) total DKQ scores were 3 (2–5) in Indians and 6 (3.5–9) in Caucasians ( p < 0.001). Indian older people showed significantly less knowledge about basic aspects ( p < 0.001) and epidemiology ( p < 0.001) of dementia when compared to Caucasian older people. Both groups faired equally badly on questions about aetiology ( p = 0.91) and symptomatology ( p = 0.66). Indian older people were less aware of personality, reasoning, and speech being the affected in dementia ( p < 0.001, p < 0.001 and p = 0.04, respectively). Conclusion Indian older people in Manchester (UK) do not seem to have sufficient knowledge about dementia, which may be one of the reasons for their relative absence in the local dementia treatment clinics. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.