Maginsh Dahal
Professor
Title: Knowledge Regarding Alzheimer's Disease Among College Students of Kathmandu, Nepal
Biography
Biography: Maginsh Dahal
Abstract
Introduction: Alzheimer’s, a neurodegenerative disease is becoming a growing burden and the leading cause of disability amongst older people and there is no cure for it. It is set to be the biggest killer among the growing elderly population. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of Alzheimer’s disease among college students in Kathmandu metropolitan city. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study among 385 randomly selected bachelor students of Kathmandu metropolitan city. The questionnaire included 2 sections. Section I addressed the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants. Section II addressed covered Alzheimer's disease knowledge scale(ADKS) test. ADKS contains a set of 30 items, with True and False options. 1 point was given for correct answer and 0 for incorrect answer. The final sum was then the total score of the participant. Frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation was calculated and chi-square test was used to measure the association between two categorical variables. Results: The mean ADKS (Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale) score is 15.45 ± 2.95 with lowest mean total score 8 and highest 26. 49.5% of respondents scored above mean. The number of male and female respondents who scored above mean is 68 and 95 respectively with p-value 0.71 and odds ratio 0.922. There is no association between gender and knowledge level. Gender seemed to have no effect on the knowledge about Alzheimer's disease on the basis of Alzheimer's disease knowledge scale (ADKS). However, science students had comparatively better knowledge about disease than management students. The mean score of science and management is 15.9 and 15.04 respectively with p-value 0.004. There is association between knowledge score and faculty. Conclusion: This study concluded that the knowledge level of college students on Alzheimer’s disease is below moderate. The findings concluded that there is association between faculty and knowledge score