Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-vsgnj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-17T10:15:12.499Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Preparedness for Alzheimer's disease and its determinants among laypersons in Israel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 September 2011

Perla Werner
Perla Werner*
Affiliation:
Department of Gerontology, University of Haifa, Israel
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Prof. Perla Werner, Department of Gerontology, University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel. Phone: +972-4-8249568; Fax: +972-8249946. Email: werner@research.haifa.ac.il.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background: Despite the increasing prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD), very few studies have examined advanced preparation for the possibility of becoming sick with AD, and these few studies indicate a general lack of preparation. This study aimed to expand knowledge regarding preparedness for AD among younger and older Israeli laypersons, and to explore the determinants of such preparedness, in terms of knowledge and beliefs concerning AD.

Methods: This study was based on a national representative sample of 632 Israeli laypersons. Participants were interviewed by telephone to assess their preparedness for AD, beliefs related to AD in terms of vulnerability, worry, fear, and perceptions about the importance of planning for the future, and their perceived knowledge of AD.

Results: Low levels of preparation for AD were reported, especially among younger participants. Multivariate analyses indicated that for both older and younger participants, taking actual steps to prepare oneself for AD was significantly associated with a general sense of preparedness, and that a general sense of preparedness was associated with perceptions regarding the importance of planning for the future. For older participants, a general sense of preparedness was also associated with greater knowledge of AD.

Conclusions: Findings indicate that Israeli laypersons are not preparing for AD, and that attitudes and beliefs play an important role in this preparation. Thus, measures should be taken to emphasize the importance of planning for the future contingency of AD in younger and older persons and to expand the knowledge of older persons regarding the disease.

Keywords

dementiaadvanced preparationbeliefsknowledge
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , February 2012 , pp. 205 - 211
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alzheimer's Association (2011). Alzheimer's Association report 2011: Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. Alzheimer & Dementia, 7, 208–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, L. A., Day, K. L., Beard, R. L., Reed, P. S. and Wu, B. (2009). The public's perceptions about cognitive health and Alzheimer's disease among the U.S. population: a national review. The Gerontologist, 49, S3–S11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Black, K. and Reynolds, S. L. (2008). Factors associated with advance care planning among older women in Southwest Florida. Journal of Women & Aging, 20, 3/4, 249–264.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boer, H. and Seydel, E. R. (1998). Protection Motivation Theory. In Conner, M. and Norman, P. (eds.), Predicting Health Behaviour. Buckingham: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Brookmeyer, R., Johnson, E., Ziegler-Graham, K. and Arrighi, H. M. (2007). Forecasting the global burden of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 3, 186–191.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carrese, J. A., Mullaney, J. L., Faden, R. R. and Finucane, T. E. (2002). Planning for death but not serious future illness: qualitative study of housebound elderly patients. BMJ, 325, 7356, 125–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chung, S., Mehta, K., Shumway, M., Alvidrez, J. and Perez-Stable, E. J. (2009). Risk perception and preference for prevention of Alzheimer's disease. Value in Health, 12, 450–458.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Connell, C. M., Roberts, J. S. and McLaughlin, S. J. (2007). Public opinion about Alzheimer disease among Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites: results from a national study. Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders, 21, 232–240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corner, L. and Bond, J. (2004). Being at risk of dementia: fears and anxieties of older adults. Journal of Aging Studies, 18, 143–155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cumming, T. and Brodtmann, A. (2010). Dementia and stroke: the present and future epidemic. International Journal of Stroke, 5, 453–454.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Drabsch, T. (2007). Preparing for the Impact of Dementia. NSW Parliamentary Library Briefing Paper No 4/06. Sydney: NSW Parliamentary Library.Google Scholar
Friedemann, M. L., Newman, F. L., Seff, L. R. and Dunlop, B. D. (2004). Planning for long-term care: concept, definition, and measurement. The Gerontologist, 44, 520–530.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harris Interactive Inc. (2006). MetLife Foundation Alzheimer's Survey: What America Thinks. Harris Interactive Inc.Google Scholar
Korczyn, A. D. and Vakhapova, V. (2007). The prevention of the dementia epidemic. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 257, 2–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Larson, E. B. (2010). Prospects for delaying the rising tide of worldwide, late-life dementias. International Psychogeriatrics, 22, 1196–1202.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lee, T. S. and Krishnan, K. R. (2010). Alzheimer's disease – the inexorable epidemic. Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore, 39, 505–506.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Low, L. F. and Anstey, K. J. (2007). The public's perception of the plausibility of dementia risk factors is not influenced by scientific evidence. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 23, 202–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, J., Mathews, H. F. and Hack, K. A. (2000). Differences by race in long-term care plans. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 19, 424–440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pinquart, M. and Sörensen, S. (2002). Factors that promote and prevent preparation for future care needs: perceptions of older Canadian, German, and US women. Health Care for Women, 23, 729–741.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roberts, J. S. et al. (2003). Differences between African American and whites in their perceptions of Alzheimer disease. Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders, 17, 19–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robinson, L. et al. (2010). Patient preferences for future care – how can Advance Care Planning become embedded into dementia care: a study protocol. BMC Geriatrics, 10, 2–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Samsi, K. and Manthorpe, J. (2011). “I live for today”: a qualitative study investigating older people's attitudes to advance planning. Health and Social Care in the Community, 19, 1, 52–59.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Savica, R. and Peterson, R. C. (2011). Prevention of dementia. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 34, 127–145.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sheeran, P. and Abraham, C. (1998). The health belief model. In Conner, M. and Norman, P. (eds.), Predicting Health Behaviour: Research and Practice with Social Cognition Models. Buckingham: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Sörensen, S. and Pinquart, M. (2000). Preparation for future care needs: styles of preparation used by older Eastern German, United States, and Canadian women. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 15, 349–381.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sörensen, S. and Pinquart, M. (2001). Developing a measure of older adults’ preparation for future care needs. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 53, 2, 137–165.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sörensen, S. and Zarit, S. H. (1996). Preparation for caregiving: a study of multigenerational families. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 42, 43–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sörensen, S., Duberstein, P. R., Chapman, B., Lyness, J. M. and Pinquart, M. (2008). How are personality traits related to preparation for future care needs in older adults? Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 63B, 6, P328–P336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Werner, P. (2003). Knowledge about symptoms of Alzheimer's disease: correlates and relationship to help-seeking behavior. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18, 1029–1036.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Werner, P. and Davidson, M. (2004). Emotional reactions of lay persons to someone with Alzheimer's disease. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 19, 391–397.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed