Medical help-seeking intentions for cognitive impairment by the patient

Abstract

Objectives: Older adults represent one of the fastest growing population groups. As the aged population increases, incidence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other dementias will also increase. Professionals agree that early intervention is essential for therapeutic and quality of life purposes; however, many older adults wait several months or years to seek medical help after first noticing signs of cognitive impairment. The present study sought to identify the predictors of help-seeking for cognitive impairment by an individual for him/herself after the first detection of symptoms.

Method: An online survey was administered to adults (N = 250) 50 years old and older. Individuals responded about their help-seeking intentions in response to a hypothetical vignette depicting symptoms of cognitive decline derived from a similar study with caregivers conducted by Qualls and colleagues. Additional standardized measures measuring constructs such as knowledge of Alzheimer’s disease were completed.

Results: The present study reveals that cognitive (i.e. symptom identification and disease attribution) and affective (i.e. symptom impact and threat appraisal) factors, as well as an interaction between the two, are predictive of help-seeking intentions with excellent model fit.

Conclusion: Help-seeking intentions by individuals with possible cognitive impairment are comparable to those of potential caregivers. Contrary to hypotheses, high threat appraisal positively predicted help-seeking intentions despite the expectation that threat-induced fear would lead to avoidance. Recommendations are made for future research to further investigate both patients’ help-seeking intentions and actions in response to signs of cognitive impairment.

Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2021.1910791 .

Keywords:

• Dementia
• coping with illness/disability
• health promotion

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the University of Louisville Graduate Student Council and the University of Louisville Graduate Network of Arts & Sciences.