A survey of family members' knowledge when dealing with Alzheimer's Disease and dementia

This study addressed whether there is a difference in the knowledge level of family members in East Tennessee. regarding Alzheimer's Disease and dementia based on location of the patient: home, nursing home, or assisted living facility. The researcher developed a survey instrument to measure knowledge of behavioral characteristics, communication, and physical characteristics. Twenty instruments were completed at each type of patient location. Results of the Kruskal Wallis Test indicated that, at the .05 level of significance, there were no significant differences based on location. However, there were significant differences, p<.001, when the Friedman Test was used to compare all sixty respondents by category of knowledge. The Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test revealed that scores on physical characteristics were significantly lower than communication. Family education efforts need to continue with greater emphasis on physical characteristics of Alzheimer's Disease and dementia. It was also recommended that a future study test the same family members multiple times in the course of the disease.