Public Knowledge about Dementia in China: A National WeChat-Based Survey

Dan Liu, Guirong Cheng, Lina An, Xuguang Gan, Yulian Wu, Bo Zhang, Sheng Hu, Yan Zeng and Liang Wu
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Dan Liu: Brain and Cognition Research Institute, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
Guirong Cheng: Brain and Cognition Research Institute, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
Lina An: Brain and Cognition Research Institute, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
Xuguang Gan: Brain and Cognition Research Institute, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
Yulian Wu: Brain and Cognition Research Institute, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
Bo Zhang: Brain and Cognition Research Institute, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
Sheng Hu: School of Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Yan Zeng: Brain and Cognition Research Institute, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
Liang Wu: School of Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-14

Abstract: Dementia is a serious public health problem. The more extensive dementia knowledge is, the more conducive it is to early prevention and treatment of dementia. However, no assessment of the general population’s dementia awareness has been conducted so far in China. Thus, this study assessed the national public knowledge of dementia based on mobile internet in China. We assessed 10,562 national respondents recruited based on the most popular social networking service in China, WeChat and analyzed the data using quantitative methods. The overall correct rate of total dementia knowledge was 63.14%. Only half of the participants (50.84%) could identify risk factors accurately. The level of dementia knowledge was positively associated with high education, city residency, and experience of exposure to information on dementia. The sandwich generation (aged 20–60 years) had the highest level of dementia knowledge. Chinese people were found to have a low level of knowledge about dementia, especially those aged over 60 years, with low education and living in rural areas. Further educational programs and campaigns are needed to improve dementia knowledge, with greater focus on the older population as the target audience, emphasis on dementia risk factors as educational content, correcting misconceptions about dementia, and providing more experience of exposure to dementia.

Keywords: dementia; knowledge; risk factors; WeChat (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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