Age and Gender Differences in Dementia Knowledge among Retirees in Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study was conducted to ascertain age and gender differences in dementia knowledge among retirees in Enugu state. Three research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. A cross-sectional survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted of the 10,007 retirees in Enugu State civil service. The sample size was 385 (retirees). Dementia Knowledge Assessment Survey (DKAS) Questionnaire was used for data collection. [There was no reliability test on the instrument because it has been previously tested (α=0.85,Ꞷh=0.87; overall scale) (Annear et al. 2017)]. Frequencies and percentages were used to answer the research questions, while Chi-square statistic was used to test the null hypotheses at .05 level of significance. Results among others indicated that overall 63.9 per cent of retirees possessed low knowledge of dementia, while 28 per cent had moderate knowledge. Majority of the retirees possessed low knowledge of dementia which increases as their ages increased (60-69 years = 59.1%< 70-79 years =65.9% <80 years and above =71.1%). Majority of the retirees possessed low knowledge of dementia with males having slight higher values more than the female retirees (males=65.4%> females =62.4%). Also, at the .05 level of significance, there was no significant difference in the level of retiree’s knowledge of dementia according on age and gender. Based on the findings, the author recommended among others that health educators, under the ministry of health should further disseminate information and education about dementia to enhance the low level of knowledge possessed by retirees in Enugu State, potentially through targeted awareness campaigns or educational programmes.