Abstract

Background: With current aging populations, dementia prevalence is rising. Already 1 in 14 people over the age of 65 in the UK have dementia [Alzheimer’s society, 2018]. This number is expected to rise, with the estimate being the number will double by 2045 [David Cameron, 2015]. With this, it is important to evaluate healthcare professionals understanding of the condition, as it is imperative, they are able to provide appropriate care for the ever increasing patient group. Dementia friends information sessions were designed to dispel common myths about dementia and provide information on how to better interact with said patients based on their needs. It is thought this session may be of value to undergraduate healthcare students to help prepare them to interact with this patient group in practice.

Aims: The objectives of this study were to ascertain whether; there is currently a gap at undergraduate level surrounding dementia teaching, the dementia friends session could bridge this gap, student knowledge of dementia improved, students felt this session would benefit them and their patients in practice and finally whether undergraduate level was appropriate to implement the session.

Method: Between October 2018 and March 2019 165 undergraduate health care professionals (pharmacy (N=119), public health (N=22), adult nursing (N=21) and mental health nursing (N=3)) took part in a dementia friends’ session through university. Students then completed a short survey. This survey was designed to assess students views on current teaching practices, the value of the session and how they felt it would impact them going forwards.

Results: Student’s dementia knowledge increased after the session with a 72.41% increase in those who felt they had a good knowledge and a 266.67% increase in students who felt they had an excellent knowledge. When asked if students felt there was a gap at undergraduate level surrounding dementia teaching, just over half of students either agreed or strongly agreed (52.11%) and most of the remaining students were undecided. 78.18% of students felt the information session was relevant to their university learning and 84.85% of students concluded the session was either important or very important to undergraduates.

Conclusion: The dementia friends information session is a successful tool in increasing student knowledge of the condition. It is suitable to be incorporated at an undergraduate level as students feel it is in line with their current curriculum and they feel it will benefit them when they enter practice. Students were undecided as to whether they felt there was currently a gap in their undergraduate teaching therefore going forwards this could be further investigated with a larger student cohort to find out if students feel there is something missing from their current teaching and if so, what they feel needs to be added to provide a full education for this subject area.