Journal
AGING & MENTAL HEALTH
Volume 24, Issue 8, Pages 1348-1355Publisher
ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2019.1584880
Keywords
Rural; underserved; Alzheimer's disease; basic knowledge; early detection
Categories
Funding
- NIA NIH HHS [K01 AG064047] Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Objective:Older rural adults face a higher burden of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and delayed detection. This risk is heightened in rural populations that are ethnically diverse. Patients and providers are often hesitant to participate in screening, partially due to gaps in knowledge of the current science. The purpose of this paper is to describe the results of administering the revised version of the Basic Knowledge of Alzheimer's Disease (BKAD) measure in small rural communities in five different states. Methods:The BKAD measure was revised after first being tested in rural Appalachia. Revisions including eliminating non-discriminating items and adding questions regarding early detection, sleep, head injury, and vision changes. Reliability and validity testing included Cronbach's alpha and Rasch item analysis, test-retest, and predictive validity. Descriptive measures and independent sample t-tests were used to analyze knowledge gaps and sociodemographics. Results:Tests for reliability and validity were highly favorable, including Cronbach's alpha = .85 and overall Rasch item analysis of .94. Three-fourths of participants knew that annual cognitive screening was recommended for older adults, but only one-fourth had been previously screened. Sociodemographic findings revealed that a majority of participants (86%) would participate in annual memory screening if offered, regardless of education or health literacy level. Conclusion:The BKAD measure is a good fit for use in rural and underserved populations. BKAD results can inform the design of culturally relevant programs for raising awareness of the importance of early AD detection and treatment.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available