What Does the Australian General Public Know About Treatments for Dementia? A Population Survey

• Main Authors: Miia Rahja BAppSc (OT) Honours, BIntBus, Kate Laver PhD, MClinRehab, BAppSc (OT), Tracy Comans PhD, BEcon(Hons), BPhty, Maria Crotty FAFRM, PhD, MPH, BMed, BA
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2018-08-01
• Series: Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/2333721418793442

Objective: To identify the Australian general population’s awareness regarding the presence and effectiveness of treatments for dementia. Method: An online survey administered through a consumer panel provider (PureProfile). Included were people aged 18 years or above living in Australia. The survey asked participants about their knowledge of treatments for dementia and attitudes toward the effectiveness of evidence-based treatments. Results: Of the 1,001 participants, more than half (63.5%) could not spontaneously name any treatments that improved outcomes for people with dementia. When asked about the efficacy of specific treatments, “brain training” was considered to be “very likely” to be effective by approximately half (49.4%) of the participants followed by “education for caregivers” (46.2%) and “healthy diet” (43.4%). Discussion: Knowledge of treatments for dementia among the Australian public is poor. There is a need to better educate the public about treatments that have demonstrated effectiveness to improve their uptake and use.