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J
acinto
AF
et
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.
366
R
ev
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ssoc
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ed
B
ras
2017; 63(4):366-370
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Knowledge and attitudes towards dementia among final-year
medical students in Brazil
A
lessandro
F
errari
J
acinto
1
*, V
anessa
de
A
lbuquerque
C
itero
2
, J
osé
L
uiz
de
L
ima
N
eto
3
, P
aulo
J
osé
F
ortes
V
illas
B
oas
4
,
A
driana
P
olachini
do
V
alle
4
, A
nanda
G
helfi
R
aza
L
eite
5
1
PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu da Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” (FMB-Unesp), Botucatu, SP, Brazil
2
Associated Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Escola Paulista de Medicina da Universidade Federal de São Paulo (EPM-Unifesp), São Paulo, SP, Brazil
3
Medical Student, FMB-Unesp, Botucatu, SP, Brazil
4
PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, FMB-Unesp, Botucatu, SP, Brazil
5
Psychologist, MSc Student, Collective Health Graduate Program, FMB-Unesp, Botucatu, SP, Brazil
S
ummary
Study conducted at Faculdade de
Medicina de Botucatu da Universidade
Estadual Paulista (FMB-Unesp), Botucatu,
and Escola Paulista de Medicina da
Universidade Federal de São Paulo
(EPM-Unifesp), São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Article received:
9/17/2016
Accepted for publication:
10/19/2016
*Correspondence:
Address: Distrito de Rubião Jr, s/n
Botucatu, SP – Brazil
Postal code: 18618-970
alessandrojacinto@uol.com.br http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.63.04.366Objective:
Among all countries, Brazil is expected to have the sixth largest el-
derly population in 2025. Dementia syndromes are prominent among aging-re-
lated diseases. Despite the necessity of and curriculum for training in geriatric
medicine to make recommendations on an approach to this theme, adequate
training appears to be infrequent. The present study aimed to evaluate the knowl-
edge about dementia and students’ attitude towards it during the last semester
of the medical course in two of the most important Brazilian medical schools.
Method:
In our study, a sample of 189 students was invited to complete
questionnaires comprising demographic and professional topics, knowledge with
respect to cognitive alterations in the elderly and attitudes in dealing with an
elderly patient with dementia.
Results:
A total of 155 students accepted to participate in the study; 92(59.7%)
considered that they had good training in cognitive alterations during their
undergraduate medical course, while 67 (58.8%) of them declared having had only
theoretical training. Regarding knowledge, the students obtained a mean of 6.9,
out of a scale from 0 to 14 points. As for attitudes, the students agreed that they
can contribute to the life quality of the patient and of the caregiver, and that it is
useful to provide the diagnosis to the family.
Conclusion:
The findings of this study are relevant for overturn the educational
barriers of physicians in relation to the care of patients with dementia.
Keywords:
aged, dementia, health knowledge, attitudes and practice in health,
medical students.
I
ntroduction
Aging of the population is a worldwide phenomenon.
1
Among countries in 2025, Brazil is expected to have the
sixth highest number of the elderly.
2
Dementia syndromes
are prominent among aging-related diseases, and demen-
tia from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most prevalent.
In the USA, in 2015, about 5.3 million persons were di-
agnosed with AD.
3
In Brazil, projections indicate that the
prevalence of dementia will rise, reaching 7.9% of the el-
derly aged 65 years or older by 2020.
2
Early diagnosis of dementia allows the patient to have
access to several treatment options, as well as appropriate
multidisciplinary care, facilitating the planning of future
care.
3
However, studies show that patients with dementia
are not diagnosed, especially by a general practitioner.
4-6
In Brazil, a single published study showed that cognitive
decline of the elderly is infrequently detected by general
practitioners.
4
Many physicians who have recently gradu-
ated frommedical school opt for working in the Brazilian
Public Health System, which is responsible for attending
to about 75% of the population.
7
Despite the necessity of
and curriculum for training in geriatric medicine to make
recommendations on an approach to this theme, adequate
training appears to occur infrequently.
8