141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

288869
Knowledge, attitude, and lifestyle practices on primary prevention of dementia

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Michael Nwude, MD, MPH, FACPM, Ph.D. , U.S. Department of Justice, Butner, NC
Amany H. Refaat, MD, MSc, MHPE, PhD , School of Health Sciences, Walden University, Minneapolis, MN
Cheryl Anderson, PT, MBA, GCS, PhD , College of Health Sciences, Walden University, Minneapolis, MN
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.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Epidemiology
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Identify predictors of healthy lifestyle practices among seniors.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been a health care providers for several patients including the elderly with and without dementia. I discuss health education topics with my patients including on the area of primary prevention of dementia. Among my recent research is my recent dissertation research work on knowledge, attitude and lifestyle practices on primary prevention of dementia among residents of Raleigh, North Carolina.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.