Dementia Literacy and Its Link to Public Attitudes towards Dementia in Flanders: A Cross-Sectional Survey among Health Professionals, Family Caregivers, and the General Public

Background: The stigma towards dementia has an impact on the quality of life of the people living with the condition as well as their caregivers. However, to date, little is known about the public attitudes towards dementia and dementia literacy in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. With the present study, we aim to fill that gap. Methods: An online questionnaire was created, consisting of sociodemographic questions and the Dutch translations of the Dementia Knowledge Attribute Scale (DKAS) and the Dementia Attitudes Scale (DAS). Respondents were divided into three clusters: health professionals, family caregivers, and the general public. Demographic information and exposure to dementia were surveyed as well. The survey was disseminated online targeting Flemish adults in all three clusters. The data from the two validated surveys and the demographic information were analysed by means of descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations. Finally, our findings regarding knowledge and attitudes are compared cross-culturally to findings of previous research using the same validated scales (DKAS and DAS). Results: Our final sample contained 6351 valid answers across the three clusters: the general public (N = 3094), health professionals (N = 1686), and family caregivers (N = 1196). The findings indicate a knowledge gap concerning “Risk and Health Promotion” in Flanders. Our comparison between the three clusters show that health professionals had the highest attitudes scores, as well as the best overall dementia knowledge scores. The correlation analysis also revealed that dementia exposure in the general population increased attitude and knowledge scores. A comparison of recent literature reveals a large variation in dementia knowledge and dementia attitudes cross-culturally. Conclusion: The present study shows that there is still room for improvement concerning dementia knowledge and attitudes in Flanders. It also shows the importance of campaigns and training programmes specifically tailored for each cluster separately.