Confidence in Dementia Management and Its Associated Factors among Primary Care Doctors in Malaysia

Nurul Izzah Sodri; Mohamed-Syarif Mohamed-Yassin; Mariam Mohamad; Noorhida Baharudin

doi:10.3390/ijerph19169995

Confidence in Dementia Management and Its Associated Factors among Primary Care Doctors in Malaysia

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Aug 13;19(16):9995. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19169995.

Authors

Nurul Izzah Sodri¹, Mohamed-Syarif Mohamed-Yassin¹, Mariam Mohamad², Noorhida Baharudin¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Primary Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selayang Campus, Batu Caves 68100, Selangor, Malaysia.
² Department of Public Health Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh Campus, Jalan Hospital, Sungai Buloh 47000, Selangor, Malaysia.

Abstract

Primary care doctors (PCDs) play an important role in the early diagnosis and management of dementia. This study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and confidence in managing dementia among PCDs in Malaysia. It also aimed to determine the factors associated with higher confidence levels in dementia management. An online-based cross-sectional study using Google Forms^TM was performed. Sociodemographic and work-related data were collected, and Dementia Knowledge among General Practitioners & General Practitioners Attitude and Confidence Scale for Dementia questionnaires were utilized to assess the knowledge, attitude, and confidence scores. Multiple linear regression was conducted to determine the association between sociodemographic factors, knowledge, and attitude with the confidence in dementia management score. A total of 239 PCDs participated, with the majority being female (72.4%) and Malay (64.4%) and working in public primary care clinics (67.4%). The mean (±SD) score for confidence was 2.96 (±0.76). Among the factors associated with higher confidence levels in managing dementia were higher dementia knowledge scores, higher attitude towards dementia scores, prior dementia education, and the availability of nearby referral services for dementia. Malaysian PCDs' confidence in dementia management was comparable to the PCDs of other countries. Strategies addressing these factors should be implemented to improve the confidence of PCDs in managing dementia.

Keywords: Malaysia; attitudes; confidence; dementia; general practitioner; knowledge; primary care.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Attitude of Health Personnel*
Cross-Sectional Studies
Dementia* / diagnosis
Dementia* / therapy
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Malaysia / epidemiology
Male
Primary Health Care
Surveys and Questionnaires

Grants and funding

This research was funded by Universiti Teknologi MARA (Grant no. 600-RMC/MyRA 5/3/LESTARI (100/2020)). The funding body did not have a role in the design of the study; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data; or in writing the manuscript.