Addressing the informational needs of healthcare professionals in dementia care: An explorative study in a Chinese society

Many healthcare professionals in Hong Kong are now working in dementia care, but little is known about their informational needs in this area. This study explored the level of knowledge about dementia that healthcare professionals perceived themselves as having, and the informational needs of dementia care. 320 respondents, who were primarily nurses, social workers, and rehabilitation therapists, completed a questionnaire designed for this study. While 65% reported having sufficient knowledge of dementia, only 40% expressed having adequate knowledge of dementia-related services. Respondents who had relevant clinical experience demonstrated a significantly higher self-perceived knowledge level of dementia (p=0.000) and dementia-related services (p=0.000). The respondents ranked information leaflets (68%), the mass media (65%), and workshops (53%) as the three popular sources for obtaining dementia-related information. Similar to their western counterparts, over 75% of respondents expressed the need to lean more about clinical management and service provisions for people with dementia and their families. To enhance the knowledge of healthcare professionals about dementia care, it is recommended that healthcare professionals be encouraged to participate in continuing education programmes, and that education/resource centres for dementia care be developed to address the learning needs of local practitioners.