Dementia Knowledge and Information Seeking of C hinese A mericans

To the Editor: As the number of elderly adults in the U.S. population increases, dementia has become a public health concern. Given that dementia is as prevalent in Asian Americans as in Caucasians, it is becoming increasingly important for individuals in this ethnic minority group to become informed about this medical condition. Individuals who are more knowledgeable about dementia are more likely to recognize early symptoms and seek professional help during its onset; Asian Americans are significantly less knowledgeable than Caucasians about dementia1 and underuse treatment services.2 Little is known about ways to increase dementia knowledge in the general public, particularly in Chinese-American immigrants. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess whether baseline dementia knowledge is associated with Chinese Americans seeking more information about dementia and the differences between Chinese-speaking individuals who are interested in further dementia education and those who are not after attending a dementia seminar. Chinese-American immigrants were recruited to attend a dementia seminar by means of radio, newspaper, posters, and word of mouth. One hundred thirty-nine individuals in Los Angeles who were fluent in Chinese participated in the study. The dementia seminar was conducted in Cantonese. Before the presentation, participants were instructed to complete a questionnaire assessing their knowledge of dementia and an optional recruitment survey. The questionnaire was adapted from a previous research study3 and translated into Chinese. It consisted of 11 short statements that tested participants’ dementia knowledge. Participants answered each statement by identifying it as true or false. Scores could range from 0 to 11, with a higher score indicating greater dementia knowledge. The questionnaire also asked participants to include basic demographic factors, such as sex, age, level of education, years living in the United States, and family history of dementia. Participants who were interested in attending future educational seminars were encouraged to complete an optional recruitment survey. The recruitment survey asked participants to provide their contact information and to indicate the specific means by which they became aware of this dementia seminar. Participant level of interest in further dementia education was determined according to their decision to submit the optional recruitment survey. Descriptive analyses, t-tests, and chi-square analyses were conducted to identify differences between participants interested in further dementia education and those who were not. Of the 139 Chinese Americans who participated in the study, 71% were female. More than 60% had lived in the United States for 20 years or more, yet only 40% had a high school education. Approximately 37% of the participants were elderly (≥65). Approximately 32% indicated having a family history of dementia. Scores from the questionnaire assessing dementia knowledge ranged from 3 to 10 out of possible 11 (mean 6.3 ± 1.7). Fifty (36%) participants submitted the recruitment surveys, demonstrating their interest in receiving more education on dementia; 34% of this group had heard about the dementia seminar through church announcements and posters, 32% on the radio,4 26% by word of mouth, and 8% in the newspaper. Participants interested in further dementia education had lower dementia knowledge (mean 5.5 ± 1.5 vs 6.8 ± 1.7; P < .001), were more likely to inaccurately believe that dementia is normal for aging (49% vs 97%; P < .001), and were less likely to identify early signs of dementia (22% vs 39%; P = .04) than those who were not. There were no significant difference in demographic factors between the two groups. This study revealed that although Chinese Americans hold misconceptions about dementia, their lack of knowledge does not reflect a lack of desire to become further educated about the disease. Participants who scored low on the dementia knowledge questionnaire expressed interest in further dementia education. These results suggest that the lack of initiative to seek help observed in the Chinese-American immigrant community may not be entirely due to a low level of knowledge about the illness. Alternative reasons could include a deficiency of appropriate Chinese-language educational materials or a lack of awareness about dementia health services. When presented with easily accessible educational opportunities to learn about dementia, Chinese-American immigrants are willing to participate, so it is important that individuals in this ethnic community be given appropriate resources to correct their misconceptions about dementia, leading to early recognition of its symptoms and the use of treatments and services. Conflict of Interest: The editor in chief has reviewed the conflict of interest checklist provided by the authors and has determined that the authors have no financial or any other kind of personal conflicts with this paper. Author Contributions: EY Ho and BKP Woo: study concept and design, acquisition of subjects and/or data, analysis and interpretation of data, and preparation of manuscript. Sponsor's Role: None.