The impact of Alzheimer's disease (AD), in terms of its prevalence and cost to society, is increasingly recognized as a major public health issue. Currently, however, little is known about the public's awareness and understanding of AD. Because individuals with AD are unlikely to seek information or professional help for themselves (due, in part, to their cognitive deficits and the stigma of the disease), the knowledge of and attitudes about AD among family members, friends, neighbors, and society in general will play a major role in the health decisions made on behalf of individuals with dementia. The purpose of the proposed research is to assess the level of knowledge and commonly held myths and misconceptions about the cause, symptoms, perceived risk, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of AD. The long-term objective is to incorporate findings from this research into the statewide information dissemination and educational outreach interventions of the Michigan Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Ultimately, efforts to increase societal awareness and understanding of AD will increase acceptance and compassion for patients with AD and their families and lead to greater support for dementia-related research, service delivery, and health care policy initiatives. The two specific aims of the proposed research include: a) to assess knowledge of and attitudes toward AD among adults in Michigan and b) to assess awareness and attitudes toward utilization of the statewide network of dementia services among adults in Michigan. To accomplish these aims, data will be collected via a telephone interview of a systematic random sample of 1,200 Michigan residents aged 18 or older identified by random digit dialing. The telephone interviews will be conducted by the Survey Research Center (SRC) of the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan using state-of-the-art procedures and facilities. SRC personnel will complete two focus groups and two pretests to assist in questionnaire development. The broad content areas covered in the survey include: familiarity with AD, knowledge of the attitudes toward AD, health beliefs (e.g., perceived severity, susceptibility, benefits of and barriers to seeking services), awareness of local and statewide services for dementia patients, and demographic and background characteristics. The first stage of data analysis will include the examination of univariate and bivariate statistics. Next, models of health decision making will be estimate using multivariate procedures, including multiple regression analyses.
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