Assessment of the Knowledge and Attitude Towards Dementia Among Undergraduate University Students in Uganda

Figures & data

Table 1 Social and Demographic Characteristics of Participants

Demographics (N=1005)	Frequency (n)	%
Sex
Male	568	56.5
Female	437	43.5
Year of study
1	146	14.5
2	234	23.3
3	280	27.9
4	285	28.4
5	60	6.0
Program
Agriculture and environment Sciences	34	3.4
Business and management sciences	96	9.6
Computer and information science	56	5.6
Education and external studies	42	4.2
Engineering, designing art and technology	164	16.3
Human Sciences/ Medicine	470	46.8
Humanities and social Sciences	49	4.9
Law	57	5.7
Veterinary medicine, animal resources.	37	3.7
Region of origin
Western	368	36.6
Central	345	34.3
Eastern	202	20.1
Northern	90	9.0
Religion
Christianity	845	84.1
Islam	136	13.5
No religion	18	1.8
Traditional African	6	0.6
Marital status
Single (never married)	913	90.9
Married	55	5.5
Cohabiting	34	3.4
Divorced and did not remarry	3	0.3
University
Makerere University	495	49.3
Mbarara University of Science and Technology	90	9.0
Uganda Christian University	85	8.5
Kyambogo University	83	8.3
Kampala International University	78	7.8
Islamic University in Uganda	53	5.3
Busitema University	50	5.0
Gulu University	30	3.0
Ndejje University	25	2.5
St. Augustine International University	12	1.2
Uganda Martyrs University	4	0.4

Abbreviations: n, number of participants; %, proportion of participants.

Table 2 Responses of Participants to Questions About Knowledge on Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia

Questions (N=1005)	Yes; n (%)	No; n (%)	I Do Not Know; n (%)
Does memory loss happen to all people as they get older? *	537 (53.4)	342 (34)	126 (12.5)
Is forgetting who your family members are a normal part of getting old? *	167 (16.6)	724 (72)	114 (11.3)
Is forgetting the names of objects a normal part of getting old? *	273 (27.2)	633 (63)	999 (99.4)
Is having trouble with speaking or understanding a normal part of getting old? *	373 (37.1)	529 (52.6)	103 (10.2)
The above symptoms form part of a medical condition, what would you call this medical condition? (correct, wrong, I do not know) *	605 (60.2)	167 (16.6)	233 (23.2)
Do you think dementia is normal? *	177 (17.6)	709 (70.5)	119 (11.8)
Do you think dementia is contagious? *	51 (5.1)	846 (84.2)	108 (10.7)
Do you think poverty can cause dementia?	285 (28.4)	611 (60.8)	109 (10.8)
Do you think a brain disease can be the cause of dementia? *	874 (87)	43 (4.3)	88 (8.8)
Do you think dementia is a punishment from God?	20 (2.0)	912 (90.7)	73 (7.3)
Do you think dementia is a punishment from ancestors?	13 (1.3)	936 (93.1)	56 (5.6)
Do you think dementia can run in families? *	644 (64.1)	221 (22)	140 (13.9)
Do you think a traumatic event or shock can result in dementia? *	849 (84.5)	63 (6.3)	93 (9.3)
Do you think stress in daily life can cause dementia? *	769 (76.5)	126 (12.5)	110 (10.9)
Do you think dementia is only a disease that affects older people? *	159 (15.8)	778 (77.4)	68 (6.8)
Do you think women are more likely to get dementia than men? *	212 (21.1)	409 (40.7)	384 (38.2)
Do you think there is a cure for dementia? *	307 (30.5)	414 (41.2)	284 (28.3)
Do you think people with dementia have mental and physical problems? *	691 (68.8)	198 (19.7)	116 (11.5)
Do you think people with dementia are mad? *	29 (2.9)	915 (91)	61 (6.1)
Do you think traditional healers can heal people with dementia?	32 (3.2)	845 (84.1)	128 (12.7)
Do you believe dementia is a curse or witchcraft?	15 (1.5)	916 (91.1)	74 (7.4)

Notes: *The 16 items were used for calculating knowledge score with a total of 16 points; n denotes number of participants, % denotes proportion of participants.

Figure 1 Categories of knowledge on dementia among Ugandan university students.

Table 3 Factors Associated with Good Knowledge of Dementia Among Ugandan University Students

Demographics (N=1005)	Knowledge Score		Good Knowledge
	Mean	SD	Yes	No	P-value
Overall	65.5	18.5	269 (26.8)	736 (73.2)
Sex
Male	65.3	18.7	145 (25.5)	423 (74.5)	0.312
Female	65.8	18.3	124 (28.4)	313 (71.6)
Age; median, IQR
< 23	64.0	18.3	154 (24)	487 (76)	0.009
≥24	68.1	18.6	115 (31.6)	249 (68.4)
Year of study
1	61.8	19.4	26 (17.8)	120 (82.2)	<0.001
2	62.6	16.7	43 (18.4)	191 (81.6)
3	64.3	18.7	69 (24.6)	211 (75.4)
4	68.8	18.7	101 (35.4)	184 (64.6)
5	75.7	15.3	30 (50)	30 (50)
Program
Agriculture and environment Sciences	61.2	20.1	6 (17.6)	28 (82.4)	<0.001
Business and management sciences	54.1	20.1	8 (8.3)	88 (91.7)
Computer and information science	58.5	18.1	8 (14.3)	48 (85.7)
Education and external studies	59.2	18.1	7 (16.7)	35 (83.3)
Engineering, designing art and technology	57.0	17.9	14 (8.5)	150 (91.5)
Human Sciences/ Medicine	74.2	14.2	204 (43.4)	266 (56.6)
Humanities and social Sciences	57.9	17.9	7 (14.3)	42 (85.7)
Law	60.4	17.0	7 (12.3)	50 (87.7)
Veterinary medicine, animal resources.	62.7	19.7	8 (21.6)	29 (78.4)
Region of origin
Central	69.3	18.0	125 (36.2)	220 (63.8)	<0.001
Eastern	65.3	18.6	50 (24.8)	152 (75.2)
Northern	65.5	14.0	15 (16.7)	75 (83.3)
Western	62.1	19.4	79 (21.5)	289 (78.5)
Religion
Christianity	65.7	18.3	225 (26.6)	620 (73.4)	0.342
Islam	64.6	18.9	37 (27.2)	99 (72.8)
No religion	66.7	25.0	7 (38.9)	11 (61.1)
Traditional African	57.3	19.5	0 (0)	6 (100)
Marital status
Single (never married)	65.2	18.5	234 (25.6)	679 (74.4)	0.061
Married	70.9	16.8	22 (40)	33 (60)
Cohabiting	65.1	20.6	12 (35.3)	22 (64.7)
Divorced and did not remarry	64.6	15.7	1 (33.3)	2 (66.7)
University
Makerere University	64.6	18.5	123 (24.8)	372 (75.2)	<0.001
Mbarara University of Science and Technology	72.2	17.6	37 (41.1)	53 (58.9)
Uganda Christian University	61.2	19.5	17 (20)	68 (80)
Kyambogo University	56.6	18.7	9 (10.8)	74 (89.2)
Kampala International University	71.2	17.0	29 (37.2)	49 (62.8)
Islamic University in Uganda	70.0	16.9	19 (35.8)	34 (64.2)
Busitema University	71.3	15.2	18 (36)	32 (64)
Gulu University	67.9	13.7	6 (20)	24 (80)
Ndejje University	57.3	19.7	3 (12)	22 (88)
St. Augustine International University	78.6	10.1	8 (66.7)	4 (33.3)
Uganda Martyrs University	54.7	18.7	0 (0)	4 (100)

Abbreviation: SD, standard deviation.

Table 4 Multivariable Logistic Regression Showing Factors Associated with Good Knowledge of Dementia

Demographics	AOR	95% CI	P
Age
18 to 23	1.0
≥24	0.9	0.6–1.3	0.493
Year of study
1	1.0
2	1.2	0.7–2.2	0.471
3	1.8	1.0–3.2	0.035
4	3.1	1.7–5.4	<0.001
5	4.3	2.0–9.4	<0.001
Program
Agriculture and environment Sciences	1.0
Business and management sciences	0.5	0.1–1.5	0.200
Computer and information science	1.0	0.3–3.4	0.980
Education and external studies	1.1	0.3–3.8	0.872
Engineering, designing art and technology	0.4	0.1–1.1	0.086
Human Sciences/ Medicine	3.1	1.2–8.0	0.017
Humanities and social Sciences	0.9	0.3–3.0	0.836
Law	0.5	0.2–2.0	0.358
Veterinary medicine, animal resources.	1.1	0.3–3.7	0.898
Region
Central	1.0
Eastern	0.5	0.3–0.8	0.002
Northern	0.3	0.1–0.5	<0.001
Western	0.5	0.4–0.8	0.001
Marital status
Single	1.0
Cohabiting	1.4	0.1–24.4	0.817
Divorced	0.8	0.3–2.2	0.668
Married	0.6	0.3–1.4	0.233
University
Busitema University	1.0
Gulu University	0.4	0.1–1.3	0.123
Islamic University in Uganda	0.9	0.4–2.2	0.804
Kampala International University	0.8	0.3–1.7	0.529
Kyambogo University	0.8	0.3–2.1	0.610
Makerere University	0.8	0.4–1.5	0.433
Mbarara University of Science and Technology	1.3	0.6–2.9	0.530
Ndejje University	0.7	0.2–2.9	0.575
St. Augustine International University	3.4	0.8–14.6	0.100
Uganda Christian University	1.1	0.5–2.9	0.783

Abbreviations: AOR, adjusted odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.

Table 5 Attitudes of Ugandan University Students Towards Dementia

Attitude	Yes n (%)	No n (%)	I Do Not Know n (%)
Would you share your house with family member who had dementia?	889 (88.5)	53 (5.3)	63 (6.3)
Do you believe that people with dementia are responsible for their problem? *	56 (5.6)	891 (88.7)	58 (5.8)
Do you see people with dementia as violent and dangerous people to be avoided? *	72 (7.2)	840 (83.6)	93 (9.3)
Would you feel ashamed if people knew someone in your family has dementia? *	42 (4.2)	917 (91.2)	46 (4.6)
Would you be afraid to have a conversation with someone who has dementia? *	72 (7.2)	889 (88.5)	44 (4.4)
Would you be scared having someone with dementia as a neighbor? *	88 (8.8)	872 (86.8)	45 (4.5)
Do you think people with dementia can live in the community?	879 (87.5)	80 (8)	46 (4.6)
Do you think people with dementia should live in a nursing home?	487 (48.5)	408 (40.6)	110 (10.9)

Note: *Scores were reversed while calculating the final attitude score.

Table 6 Factors Associated with Positive Attitudes Towards Patients with Dementia

Demographics (N=1005)	Mean	SD	Positive Attitude
			Yes; n (%)	No; n (%)	P
Overall	81.9	19.6	655 (65.2)	350 (34.8)
Sex
Male	82.8	19.0	380 (66.9)	188 (33.1)	0.190
Female	80.7	20.4	275 (62.9)	162 (37.1)
Age; median, IQR
18 to 23	80.4	20.0	391 (61)	250 (39)	0.000
≥24	84.5	18.7	264 (72.5)	100 (27.5)
Year of study
1	79.2	21.9	86 (58.9)	60 (41.1)	0.041
2	82.0	17.5	146 (62.4)	88 (37.6)
3	80.1	22.2	182 (65)	98 (35)
4	83.6	18.1	193 (67.7)	92 (32.3)
5	88.8	12.3	48 (80)	12 (20)
Program
Agriculture and environment Sciences	79.8	20.2	22 (64.7)	12 (35.3)	0.006
Business and management sciences	75.1	26.4	53 (55.2)	43 (44.8)
Computer and information science	75.9	22.7	32 (57.1)	24 (42.9)
Education and external studies	79.5	19.1	23 (54.8)	19 (45.2)
Engineering, designing art and technology	79.1	21.8	96 (58.5)	68 (41.5)
Human Sciences/ Medicine	85.0	16.0	330 (70.2)	140 (29.8)
Humanities and social Sciences	80.4	20.9	30 (61.2)	19 (38.8)
Law	86.4	15.2	45 (78.9)	12 (21.1)
Veterinary medicine, animal resources.	81.1	23.1	24 (64.9)	13 (35.1)
Region of origin
Central	82.0	18.8	223 (64.6)	122 (35.4)	0.194
Eastern	82.6	19.2	137 (67.8)	65 (32.2)
Northern	85.8	15.0	66 (73.3)	24 (26.7)
Western	80.4	21.4	229 (62.2)	139 (37.8)
Religion
Christianity	81.7	19.8	547 (64.7)	298 (35.3)	0.857
Islam	83.6	18.1	91 (66.9)	45 (33.1)
No religion	77.1	24.0	12 (66.7)	6 (33.3)
Traditional African	91.7	10.2	5 (83.3)	1 (16.7)
Marital status
Single (never married)	81.7	19.6	590 (64.6)	323 (35.4)	0.665
Married	85.7	18.4	40 (72.7)	15 (27.3)
Cohabiting	80.9	23.3	23 (67.6)	11 (32.4)
Divorced and did not remarry	91.7	14.4	2 (66.7)	1 (33.3)
University
Makerere University	81.0	19.2	315 (63.6)	180 (36.4)	0.442
Mbarara University of Science and Technology	84.3	17.1	62 (68.9)	28 (31.1)
Uganda Christian University	79.9	23.6	53 (62.4)	32 (37.6)
Kyambogo University	79.7	22.3	48 (57.8)	35 (42.2)
Kampala International University	85.9	12.8	56 (71.8)	22 (28.2)
Islamic University In Uganda	86.8	18.1	40 (75.5)	13 (24.5)
Busitema University	83.0	20.6	35 (70)	15 (30)
Gulu University	84.2	16.4	21 (70)	9 (30)
Ndejje University	79.5	26.5	14 (56)	11 (44)
St. Augustine International University	84.4	18.6	9 (75)	3 (25)
Uganda Martyrs University	59.4	41.3	2 (50)	2 (50)

Figure 2 Attitudes towards dementia among Ugandan university students.

Table 7 Multivariable Logistic Regression Showing Factors Associated with Positive Attitudes Towards Dementia Among Ugandan University Students

Demographics	AOR	95% CI	P
Sex
Female	1.0
Male	1.1	0.9–1.5	0.351
Age
18 to 23
≥24	1.5	1.1–2.0	0.019
Year of study
1	1.0
2	1.2	0.8–1.8	0.500
3	1.3	0.8–1.9	0.284
4	1.1	0.7–1.8	0.622
5	1.8	0.8–3.8	0.144
Program
Agriculture and environment Sciences	1.0
Business and management sciences	0.7	0.3–1.6	0.390
Computer and information science	0.7	0.3–1.8	0.527
Education and external studies	0.6	0.2–1.6	0.343
Engineering, designing art and technology	0.8	0.4–1.7	0.502
Human Sciences/ Medicine	1.2	0.6–2.6	0.596
Humanities and social Sciences	0.9	0.3–2.2	0.755
Law	2.3	0.9–6.0	0.088
Veterinary medicine, animal resources.	0.9	0.3–2.3	0.753
Region of origin
Central	1.0
Eastern	1.1	0.7–1.6	0.694
Northern	1.4	0.8–2.3	0.236
Western	0.9	0.7–1.3	0.722

Abbreviations: AOR, adjusted odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.