Knowledge level of primary care physicians who works in denizli city center and interns in pamukkale university medical faculty about alzheimer disease

Abstract

AIM: Many communities in the world are rapidly ageing, with aging dementia seen in the elderly, incidence and prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease which is the most common cause of dementia is also increasing. Therefore, primary care physicians will need to play a more significant role on the diagnosis and management of Alzheimer diseases in near future. The aim of this study was to determine the level of awareness on Alzheimer's disease among primary care physicians who works in Denizli city center and interns in the Medical Faculty in Pamukkale University. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on primary care physicians who works in Denizli city center and interns in the Medical Faculty in Pamukkale University. 93 (60.4%) family physicians and 65 (89.0%) interns, a total of 158 (69.6%) people participated in the study. The University of Alabama Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Test which consists of 12 questions was used to determine Alzheimer's disease knowledge score. Data are evaluated by descriptive statistics, and either Mann-Whitney U test or Kruskal-Wallis test was used to determine the statistical differences between numeric variables. RESULTS: The mean of Alzheimer's disease knowledge score of family physicians and interns were 5.16±1.83 and 7.34±1.85, respectively (p <0.001). Interns who previously took any course on Alzheimer's disease had a higher average score of 8.41±1.67 than that of those who did not take any course 5.07±1.95, (p=0.04). Previous course among family physicians did not make any difference (p=0.568). CONCLUSION: Alzheimer's disease knowledge among primary care physicians and interns is insufficient. Authorities should take the necessary actions to improve this situation. © 2015,Gulhane Military Medical Academy. All rights reserved.