Highlights
- •A knowledge gap about Parkinson's disease (PD) often exists amongst PD patients.
- •Knowledge gaps poses a barrier in the provision of treatment and care of PD patients.
- •Our study confirms knowledge gaps amongst PD patients in all aspects.
- •A lack of PD knowledge was more pronounced in patients in the retired age group.
- •Educational interventions are an integral part of PD management.
Abstract
Background
A knowledge gap about Parkinson's disease (PD) often exists amongst PD patients, the
level and accuracy of which can influence their attitude and perceptions about the
disease. Increased awareness of this information deficit can help physicians identify
interventions that will improve patient's knowledge and perceptions about PD.
Objectives
To evaluate general understanding of PD and identify knowledge gaps amongst PD patients
using a validated PD knowledge questionnaire.
Methods
A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted in 108 PD patients (34
working; 74 retired). The questionnaire covers three domains of PD, including diagnosis,
therapeutic options, and disease course with a total knowledge score ranging from
0 to 26. Subjects with dementia were excluded.
Results
Patient misconceptions were reflected in the mean (SD) total, diagnosis, therapeutic
options, and disease course scores: 14.64 (3.32), 7.76 (1.93), 3.85 (1.28), and 3.03
(1.41) respectively. The working age subgroup had significantly higher knowledge scores
than the retired age group for the whole questionnaire (p = 0.004), as well as the diagnosis (p = 0.001) and therapeutic sections (p = 0.023). Three dependent variables, including younger age at recruitment (<60 years old), female gender, and higher disease duration (≥4 years), were identified as predictors of a higher level of PD knowledge amongst PD
patients.
Conclusion
Significant knowledge gaps were identified amongst PD patients in all three aspects
of the questionnaire. Timely identification of patients with inaccurate or insufficient
disease-related knowledge could help healthcare professionals choose more suitable
multimodal educational interventions.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 30, 2016
Accepted:
December 28,
2016
Received:
December 12,
2016
Footnotes
☆The authors have no conflict of interest
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
