Abstract
Understanding and appreciating the awareness of, and attitudes towards, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in the general public is of paramount importance to those charged with the development of health care policy. Furthermore, it is essential that this policy be formulated with consideration given to both the attitudes of the general population and to those within society more directly affected by AD; namely, the caregivers of patients with the disease. In the IMPACT survey, approximately 1000 members of the general public and 250 caregivers in 5 European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) completed a 30-minute, Web-based questionnaire. In this article, we compare and contrast the attitudes and opinions of these populations in an attempt to define specific themes. Indeed, caregivers were more concerned about consequences of growing old and were more fearful of AD than general public respondents, although a high proportion in both groups acknowledged the significant impact of the disease. Similarly, although most respondents in the 2 groups recognised that early signs and symptoms of AD are difficult to detect, caregivers were more skeptical of the abilities of both primary physicians and specialists to detect these early signs and symptoms. In terms of treatment, caregivers were less convinced of the effectiveness of treatment beyond the early stages of AD and more likely to agree that current treatments are associated with side effects. Respondents in both groups had a negative view of their government’s investment in AD, but caregivers, particularly those in France, Spain and the United Kingdom, were more likely to feel that their government acts as a barrier to treatment. Some survey respondents from the 2 groups also had a negative view of their governments’ attempts to raise awareness of AD and make its treatment a high priority. Overall, comparison of responses from these 2 groups suggests that caregivers’ personal experiences of AD profoundly affect their attitudes and perceptions surrounding the disease.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Rimmer E, Wojciechowska M, Stave C, et al. Implications of the Facing Dementia Survey for the general population, patients and caregivers across Europe. Int J Clin Pract. 2005;59(Suppl 146):17–24.
Jones RW, Mackell J, Berthet K, Knox S. Assessing attitudes and behaviours surrounding Alzheimer’s disease in Europe: key findings of the Important Perspectives on Alzheimer’s Care and Treatment (IMPACT) survey. J Nutr Health Aging. 2010;14(7): 525–530.
Lopponen M, Raiha I, Isoaho R, Vahlberg T, Kivela SL. Diagnosing cognitive impairment and dementia in primary health care — a more active approach is needed. Age Ageing. 2003;32(6):606–612.
Stoppe G, Haak S, Knoblauch A, Maeck L. Diagnosis of dementia in primary care: a representative survey of family physicians and neuropsychiatrists in Germany. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2007;23(4):207–214.
Valcour VG, Masaki KH, Curb JD, Blanchette PL. The detection of dementia in the primary care setting. Arch Intern Med. 2000;160(19):2964–2968.
Feldman H, Gauthier S, Hecker J, Vellas B, Subbiah P, Whalen E. A 24-week, randomized, double-blind study of donepezil in moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease. Neurology. 2001;57(4):613–620.
Holmes C, Wilkinson D, Dean C, et al. The efficacy of donepezil in the treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer disease. Neurology. 2004;63(2):214–219.
Mohs RC, Doody RS, Morris JC, et al. A 1-year, placebo-controlled preservation of function survival study of donepezil in AD patients [published erratum appears in Neurology. 2001;57:1942]. Neurology. 2001;57(3):481–488.
Reisberg B, Doody R, Stoffler A, et al. Memantine in moderate-to-severe Alzheimer’s disease. N Engl J Med. 2003;348(14):1333–1341.
Rogers SL, Farlow MR, Doody RS, Mohs R, Friedhoff LT, Donepezil Study Group. A 24-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of donepezil in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Neurology. 1998;50(1):136–145.
Rosler M, Anand R, Cicin-Sain A, et al. Efficacy and safety of rivastigmine in patients with Alzheimer’s disease: international randomised controlled trial [published erratum appears in: BMJ. 2001;322:1456]. BMJ. 1999;318(7184):633–638.
Tariot PN, Solomon PR, Morris JC, et al. A 5-month, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of galantamine in AD. Neurology. 2000;54(12):2269–2276.
Winblad B, Black SE, Homma A, et al. Donepezil treatment in severe Alzheimer’s disease: a pooled analysis of three clinical trials. Curr Med Res Opin. 2009;25:2577–2587.
Lockhart IA, Mitchell SA, Kelly S. Safety and tolerability of donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine for patients with Alzheimer’s disease: systematic review of the ‘real-world’ evidence. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2009;28(5):389–403.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wortmann, M., Andrieu, S., Mackell, J. et al. Eolving attitudes to Alzheimer’s disease among the general public and caregivers in Europe: Findings from the IMPACT survey. J Nutr Health Aging 14, 531–536 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-010-0264-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-010-0264-x