Knowledge and Attitude towards Dementia among UNIMAS Undergraduate nursing students

The increase in the number of demented people in Malaysia indicates the need for increased quantity and quality of geriatric care services. As future primary healthcare providers, nursing students are expected to have good knowledge and a good attitude toward dementia. Objectives: To assess the level of knowledge and attitude towards dementia among UNIMAS undergraduate nursing students as well as to examine the relationship between the level of knowledge and attitude towards dementia among UNIMAS undergraduate nursing students. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted through a simple random sampling. The data was collected from UNIMAS nursing students (n=162). The 16-item Dementia Knowledge and Dementia Attitude scale (DAS) of questionnaires were used to assess students' knowledge and attitudes toward dementia. Results: Findings showed that most respondents possessed poor knowledge 79 (48.8%) and poor attitudes 89 (54.94%) toward dementia. The overall mean knowledge score was 9.42 (SD= 1.76) meanwhile, the overall mean attitude score was 68.20 (SD= 7.54). A weak positive relationship was found between the level of knowledge and attitude towards dementia, [r= .22, n= 162, p= .005] respectively. Conclusion: This study concluded that UNIMAS nursing students have poor knowledge and attitudes toward dementia. The study's findings demand more dementia educational materials, dementia workshops, and training to improve knowledge and attitude among nursing students