Confidence in Dementia Management and Its Associated Factors among Primary Care Doctors in Malaysia

Nurul Izzah Sodri, Mohamed-Syarif Mohamed-Yassin (), Mariam Mohamad and Noorhida Baharudin
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Nurul Izzah Sodri: Department of Primary Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selayang Campus, Batu Caves 68100, Selangor, Malaysia
Mohamed-Syarif Mohamed-Yassin: Department of Primary Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selayang Campus, Batu Caves 68100, Selangor, Malaysia
Mariam Mohamad: Department of Public Health Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh Campus, Jalan Hospital, Sungai Buloh 47000, Selangor, Malaysia
Noorhida Baharudin: Department of Primary Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selayang Campus, Batu Caves 68100, Selangor, Malaysia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 16, 1-13

Abstract: Primary care doctors (PCDs) play an important role in the early diagnosis and management of dementia. This study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and confidence in managing dementia among PCDs in Malaysia. It also aimed to determine the factors associated with higher confidence levels in dementia management. An online-based cross-sectional study using Google Forms TM was performed. Sociodemographic and work-related data were collected, and Dementia Knowledge among General Practitioners & General Practitioners Attitude and Confidence Scale for Dementia questionnaires were utilized to assess the knowledge, attitude, and confidence scores. Multiple linear regression was conducted to determine the association between sociodemographic factors, knowledge, and attitude with the confidence in dementia management score. A total of 239 PCDs participated, with the majority being female (72.4%) and Malay (64.4%) and working in public primary care clinics (67.4%). The mean (±SD) score for confidence was 2.96 (±0.76). Among the factors associated with higher confidence levels in managing dementia were higher dementia knowledge scores, higher attitude towards dementia scores, prior dementia education, and the availability of nearby referral services for dementia. Malaysian PCDs’ confidence in dementia management was comparable to the PCDs of other countries. Strategies addressing these factors should be implemented to improve the confidence of PCDs in managing dementia.

Keywords: dementia; confidence; primary care; Malaysia; general practitioner; knowledge; attitudes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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