Zhao Mei, Zhang Haifeng, Lin Xiaoping, You Emily, Wang Huali, Lautenschlager Nicola T
Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Dementia Care & Research Center, Peking University Institute of Mental Health (Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China.
Int Psychogeriatr. 2023 Jan;35(1):29-42. doi: 10.1017/S1041610222000527. Epub 2022 Oct 3.
This study investigated attitudes towards dementia among Chinese immigrants aged 50 years and over living in Australia and compares these attitudes with those of individuals living in mainland China. It aimed to better understand what older Chinese adults think about dementia and to inform the development of tailored dementia-related services for this group of people.
A qualitative design involving individual interviews was employed in this study.
Forty-six participants were recruited: 21 in Melbourne and 25 in Beijing. All interviewees were born in mainland China, were community-dwelling, and did not have a dementia diagnosis.
The tripartite model of attitudes was used to guide the semi-structured interview design and report the results. Thematic qualitative analysis was employed.
In both groups, most participants held negative feelings, stigmatized views and negative stereotypes of dementia. However, most participants expressed a willingness to help individuals living with dementia. Regarding dementia care, nearly all participants preferred home care but thought formal care would become the mainstream form of care in the future. Fewer Melbourne participants expressed concerns regarding developing dementia, were interested in dementia, or perceived a need for dementia-related educational activities. Melbourne participants also reported more avoidant responses to dementia or individuals living with dementia.
This study carefully compares attitudes towards dementia between older Chinese immigrants in Melbourne and older Chinese adults in Beijing. Similarities and differences were observed between these two groups. Dementia-related service providers should consider the sociocultural changes and migration-related barriers experienced by Chinese immigrants.
本研究调查了居住在澳大利亚的50岁及以上中国移民对痴呆症的态度，并将这些态度与居住在中国大陆的人群进行比较。其旨在更好地了解中国老年人对痴呆症的看法，并为针对这一群体量身定制与痴呆症相关的服务提供信息。
本研究采用了涉及个人访谈的定性设计。
招募了46名参与者：墨尔本21名，北京25名。所有受访者均出生于中国大陆，居住在社区，且未被诊断患有痴呆症。
采用态度三方模型来指导半结构化访谈设计并报告结果。采用主题定性分析。
在两组中，大多数参与者对痴呆症持有负面情绪、污名化观点和负面刻板印象。然而，大多数参与者表示愿意帮助痴呆症患者。关于痴呆症护理，几乎所有参与者都更喜欢居家护理，但认为未来正式护理将成为主流护理形式。较少的墨尔本参与者表达了对患痴呆症的担忧、对痴呆症感兴趣或认为有必要开展与痴呆症相关的教育活动。墨尔本参与者对痴呆症或痴呆症患者也表现出更多回避反应。
本研究仔细比较了墨尔本的中国老年移民和北京的中国老年人对痴呆症的态度。观察到这两组之间的异同。与痴呆症相关的服务提供者应考虑中国移民所经历的社会文化变化和与移民相关的障碍。
