Initial evaluation of a university dementia awareness initiative
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JMHTEP-11-2017-0063 |
| Pages | 264-272 |
| Published date | 10 September 2018 |
| Date | 10 September 2018 |
| Author | Sahdia Parveen,Kirsty Haunch,Fionnuala Kerry,Janet Oyebode |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Mental health education |
Initial evaluation of a university dementia
awareness initiative
Sahdia Parveen, Kirsty Haunch, Fionnuala Kerry and Janet Oyebode
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to describe a study which explored the knowledge and attitudes of
university students towards people living with dementia, and developed and tested a dementia awareness
workshop, dementia detectives: university edition, designed to improve knowledge and foster positive
attitudes to dementia in students.
Design/methodology/approach –Dementia detectives: university edition was launched during dementia
awareness week and five workshops were delivered to university students. In total, 42 participants attended an d
completed a knowledge and attitude measure before and after the workshop, as well as rating the workshop with
regards to satisfaction, relevance, understanding and whether they would recommend the workshop to friends.
Findings –Students perceived living with dementia to be a negative and stigmatised experience.
The workshop scored highly in terms of satisfaction, relevance and understanding and all students stated
that they would recommend the workshop to others. Paired t-tests found significant improvements in
self-assessed dementia knowledge.
Research limitations/implications –This was a pilot evaluation and further testing with larger samples is
required.
Practical implications –The workshop meets the requirements for tier 1 dementia education and training
as outlined in the Dementia Core Skills and Knowledge Framework published by the Department of Health.
Social implications –The workshop has the potential to increase knowledge, change attitudes, improve
empathyand contribute to the developmentof a dementia aware workforcethrough undergraduateeducation.
Originality/value –Dementia detectives: university edition is a novel interactive method of dementia
education and training.
Keywords Stigma, Knowledge, Dementia training, Attitudes, Dementia awareness
Paper type Research paper
Background
In 2015, there were 46.8m people in the world living with dementia and this was predicted to
increase to 131.5m by 2050 (Alzheimer’s Disease International, 2016). In the UK, there are
currently 850,000 people living with dementia with numbers set to increase to 2m by 2051
(Alzheimer’s Society, 2015). The ageing world population, with its implications for increases in
numbers of people with dementia, has led dementia to become a global (G8 summit and Prime
Minister’s Office, 2013) and national priority (National Dementia Strategy, 2009; PM Challenge,
2012, 2015). Key features of the national dementia strategy in the UK are to address the stigma
attached to dementia by raising public awareness and providing effective dementia education
and training for health and social care professionals.
The term stigma originates from the late sixteenth century and is used to describe a state of
disgrace marking an individual apart from others in a community (Goffman, 1968). Mukadam and
Livingston (2012) describe four major factors contributing to the stigma associated with mental
illness including perceptions that: people with mental illness are dangerous; are personally
responsible for succumbing to their illness; have a poor prognosis and that the illness causes a
severe disruption of normal social interaction. Despite dementia being a neurological condition,
it is often met with the same fear and misunderstanding as mental illnesses.
Received 22 November 2017
Accepted 25 May 2018
Sahdia Parveen is Senior
Research Fellow at the School
of Dementia Studies, Faculty of
Health, University of Bradford,
Bradford, UK.
Kirsty Haunch is based at the
School of Dementia Studies,
Faculty of Health, University of
Bradford, Bradford, UK.
Fionnuala Kerry is based at the
Faculty of Life Sciences,
University of Bradford,
Bradford, UK.
Janet Oyebode is Professor of
Dementia Care, School of
Dementia Studies, Faculty of
Health, University of Bradford,
Bradford, UK.
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VOL. 13 NO. 5 2018, pp.264-272, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1755-6228 DOI 10.1108/JMHTEP-11-2017-0063
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