Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.
Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2022 Apr 26;14(1):e1-e7. doi: 10.4102/phcfm.v14i1.3448.
Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRDs) pose a major public health challenge in older adults. In sub-Saharan Africa, the burden of ADRD is projected to escalate amidst ill-equipped healthcare workers (HCWs).
This study aimed to assess ADRD knowledge amongst Ghanaian HCWs and improve gaps identified through a workshop.
Study was conducted among HCWs attending a workshop in Kumasi, Ghana.
On 18 August 2021, a workshop on ADRD was organised in Kumasi, Ghana, which was attended by 49 HCWs comprising doctors, nurses, pharmacists, social workers and nutritionists. On arrival, they answered 30 pre-test questions using the Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS). A post-test using the same questionnaire was conducted after participants had been exposed to a 4-h in-person educational content on ADRD delivered by facilitators from family medicine, neurology, geriatrics, psychiatry and public health.
The mean age of participants was 34.6 (± 6.82), mean years of practice was 7.7 (± 5.6) and 38.8% (n = 19) were nurses. The mean score of participants' overall knowledge was 19.8 (± 4.3) at pre-test and 23.2 (± 4.0) at post-test. Participants' pre-test and post-test scores improved in all ADKS domains. Factors associated with participants' knowledge at baseline were profession, professional rank and the highest level of education attained. After adjusting for age and sex, participant's rank, being a specialist (adjusted β = 14.44; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 7.03, 21.85; p 0.001) was an independent predictor of knowledge on Alzheimer's disease.
Existing knowledge gaps in ADRD could be improved via continuous medical education interventions of HCWs to prepare healthcare systems in Africa for the predicted ADRD epidemic.
阿尔茨海默病和相关痴呆症（ADRD）在老年人中构成了重大的公共卫生挑战。在撒哈拉以南非洲，由于医疗保健工作者（HCWs）装备不足，ADRD 的负担预计会加剧。
本研究旨在评估加纳 HCWs 对 ADRD 的认知，并通过研讨会来改善已确定的差距。
该研究在加纳库马西举行的 HCWs 研讨会上进行。
2021 年 8 月 18 日，在加纳库马西组织了一次关于 ADRD 的研讨会，49 名 HCWs 参加了研讨会，包括医生、护士、药剂师、社会工作者和营养师。他们到达后，使用阿尔茨海默病知识量表（ADKS）回答了 30 个预测试题。在参与者通过家庭医学、神经病学、老年医学、精神病学和公共卫生领域的协调员进行了 4 小时的 ADRD 现场教育内容后，使用相同的问卷进行了后测试。
参与者的平均年龄为 34.6（±6.82）岁，平均从业年限为 7.7（±5.6）年，38.8%（n=19）为护士。参与者整体知识的平均得分在预测试中为 19.8（±4.3），在后测试中为 23.2（±4.0）。参与者在 ADKS 的所有领域的预测试和后测试分数都有所提高。与参与者基线知识相关的因素是专业、专业级别和最高教育程度。在调整年龄和性别后，参与者的级别、专科医生（调整β=14.44；95%置信区间[CI]=7.03，21.85；p<0.001）是知识对阿尔茨海默病的独立预测因素。
通过对 HCWs 进行持续的医学教育干预，可以改善现有的 ADRD 知识差距，为非洲的医疗保健系统应对预计的 ADRD 流行做好准备。
