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Dementia knowledge among general practitioners: first results and psychometric properties of a new instrument

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 July 2009

Michael Pentzek ,
Heinz-Harald Abholz ,
Martin Ostapczuk ,
Attila Altiner ,
Anja Wollny  and
Angela Fuchs
Michael Pentzek*
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice, University Medical Center, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany
Heinz-Harald Abholz
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice, University Medical Center, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany
Martin Ostapczuk
Affiliation:
Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany
Attila Altiner
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice, University Medical Center, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany
Anja Wollny
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice, University Medical Center, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany
Angela Fuchs
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice, University Medical Center, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Dr. Michael Pentzek, Department of General Practice, University Medical Center Düsseldorf, Moorenstr. 5, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany. Phone: +49 211-81-16818; Fax.: +49 211-81-18755. Email: Pentzek@med.uni-duesseldorf.de.
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Abstract

Background: General practitioners (GPs) play an important role in dementia care. Sufficient knowledge is one of the prerequisites for adequate dementia management, and educational activities do include knowledge transfer. There is no up-to-date measure of GPs' knowledge of dementia, resulting in the use of unreliable ad hoc questionnaires in recent studies, thus increasing the risk of biased results.

Methods: In a cross-sectional, observational questionnaire study, 292 German GPs answered 37 questions regarding factual dementia knowledge. For the purpose of cross-validation, the psychometric properties of the test and its associations with GP characteristics were analyzed in independent samples with item and regression analyses.

Results: Twenty questions constituted a reliable questionnaire (Cohen's α = 0.733) with a normal distribution of test scores. Linear regression analysis revealed significant associations of the knowledge test score with the GPs' age and their attitudes towards dementia.

Conclusions: The newly developed dementia-knowledge test for GPs can be used in observational studies, in which a rough and easy to use instrument is required.

Keywords

Alzheimer's diseasegeneral practicequestionnaireattitudes
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 21 , Issue 6 , December 2009 , pp. 1105 - 1115
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2009

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