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Does personal experience of dementia change attitudes? The Bristol and South Gloucestershire survey of dementia attitudes

Cheston, Richard; Hancock, Jude; White, Paul

Does personal experience of dementia change attitudes? The Bristol and South Gloucestershire survey of dementia attitudes Thumbnail


Authors

Jude Hancock

Paul White Paul.White@uwe.ac.uk
Professor in Applied Statistics



Abstract

Background: it is unclear how attitudes towards people with dementia are formed and whether, for instance, increased contact with people with dementia, either through work or personal experience alters attitudes. This study used a validated questionnaire (the Approaches to Dementia Questionnaire or ADQ) to examine whether having experience of dementia (either as a result of work, or by being affected by dementia) is associated with differences in attitudes towards dementia.
Methods: a modified version of the ADQ was completed by 2,201 participants, either on-line or in written form. Participants also recorded their age, gender and ethnicity as well as whether they worked with people with dementia, or had been personally affected by dementia.
Results: increased contact with people with dementia was associated with increases in both total ADQ scores and across both sub-scales reflecting more positive person-centred attitudes toward dementia. The highest levels of increase were found amongst non-white participants.
Conclusions: this study is, we believe, the first attempt to look systematically at whether greater contact with people with dementia is associated with changes in attitudes. The results strongly support the contention that increased contact with people with dementia leads to more person-centred attitudes, and by inference, less stigmatising views.

Citation

Cheston, R., Hancock, J., & White, P. (2019). Does personal experience of dementia change attitudes? The Bristol and South Gloucestershire survey of dementia attitudes. Dementia, 18(7-8), 2596-2608. https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301217752707

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 6, 2017
Online Publication Date Jan 16, 2018
Publication Date Oct 1, 2019
Deposit Date Dec 6, 2017
Publicly Available Date Jan 4, 2018
Journal Dementia (London, England)
Print ISSN 1471-3012
Electronic ISSN 1741-2684
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 18
Issue 7-8
Pages 2596-2608
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301217752707
Keywords dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, community care, stigma, attitudes, social support
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/877404
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301217752707
Additional Information Corporate Creators : Bristol Dementia Health Integration Team

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