Knowledge, attitude, and lifestyle practices on primary prevention of dementia

The effectiveness of knowledge, attitudes, and healthy lifestyle practices (KAPs) in delaying dementia has been demonstrated on healthy populations. The purpose of this study was to determine predictors of healthy lifestyle practices among seniors. The transtheoretical stages of change theory guided the study. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was used to select a random sample of 300 residents of 2 seniors-only housing properties in Raleigh, North Carolina; ages of participants ranged from 55 to 95 years. Data on scales associated with KAPs were obtained through a self-administered Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile survey. One sample t-tests and sign tests revealed that the mean scale scores of the study sample were significantly lower than the scores suggested in the scientific literature for the general population regarding knowledge of health promoting lifestyle and healthy lifestyle practices. One-way analysis of variance indicated that only medical knowledge, healthy lifestyle knowledge, marital status, and income were significantly associated with healthy lifestyle practices. Subsequent fitting of the significant variables in a generalized linear model revealed that only healthy lifestyle knowledge was a predictor of healthy lifestyle practices. Implications for positive social change include designing awareness programs for increasing knowledge of healthy lifestyle practices to prevent or delay the onset of dementia among seniors.