Sun Fei, Gao Xiang, Brown Hillary, Winfree L Thomas
School of Social Work, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
School of Sociology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Dementia (London). 2019 Feb;18(2):674-684. doi: 10.1177/1471301216688605. Epub 2017 Jan 13.
This study seeks to understand the level of police officer competence for providing assistance during interactions with patients of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and to reveal the roles their knowledge of AD, beliefs of AD, and previous exposure to patients with AD play in influencing these competence levels. Data were collected from police officers in two Phoenix metropolitan-area police departments through focus group discussions and survey. Four focus groups comprised of 27 police officers discussed their perceptions of AD and challenges of dealing with individuals with AD. Building on the findings from the focus groups, an online survey ( n = 228) examined police officer AD knowledge, as well as their experience and competence in the handling of AD cases. Police participants had fair knowledge of AD with an average 71.8% accuracy rate. More AD knowledge ( B = 0.29) and higher levels of education ( B = 0.85) were associated with higher levels of competence of recognizing AD-related behaviors. Low levels of discomfort interacting with AD patients ( B = -0.75) and having a family member of dementia ( B = 1.32) were related to higher levels of competence of reacting appropriately to an AD patient. The findings suggest that information about the best practices for dealing with community residents with AD needs to be made available to police officers. To ensure a dementia-friendly environment, aging service providers need to reach out to local law enforcement departments and provide training that promotes AD knowledge, decreases AD-related stigma, and increases competence of handing dementia cases in a way that fits the policing culture.
本研究旨在了解警察在与阿尔茨海默病（AD）患者互动时提供协助的能力水平，并揭示他们对AD的了解、对AD的信念以及之前接触AD患者的经历在影响这些能力水平方面所起的作用。通过焦点小组讨论和调查，从凤凰城大都市区的两个警察部门收集了数据。四个由27名警察组成的焦点小组讨论了他们对AD的看法以及与AD患者打交道的挑战。基于焦点小组的研究结果，进行了一项在线调查（n = 228），以考察警察对AD的了解，以及他们处理AD案件的经验和能力。警察参与者对AD有一定的了解，平均准确率为71.8%。更多的AD知识（B = 0.29）和更高的教育水平（B = 0.85）与识别AD相关行为的更高能力水平相关。与AD患者互动时较低的不适感（B = -0.75）以及有痴呆症家庭成员（B = 1.32）与对AD患者做出适当反应的更高能力水平相关。研究结果表明，需要向警察提供有关应对社区AD居民的最佳做法的信息。为确保营造一个对痴呆症患者友好的环境，老年服务提供者需要与当地执法部门联系，并提供培训，以增进对AD的了解，减少与AD相关的污名化，并以符合警务文化的方式提高处理痴呆症案件的能力。
