Author(s):
Background: Despite research identifying a possible association between air pollution exposure and dementia risk, no study has investigated the perceptions, knowledge, attitude, and experiences of the caregivers of people with dementia on this topic. This article presents a qualitative study to identify these from the dementia caregivers, and also perceptions on measures to reduce the impact of air pollution on dementia from the healthcare professionals in china.
Methods: Focus group design was used. Two focus groups were conducted with two semi-structured guides: It includes one with five caregivers of people with dementia and the other with six health professionals. The focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed. Each transcript was analyzed using thematic analysis where codes were generated and assigned by two researchers independently. Similar codes were then grouped and categorized into themes.
Results: While some participants thought that pollution may be associated with the risk of developing dementia, they felt the need to discuss the dementia diagnosis process, which indirectly reflected the lack of knowledge on dementia prevention among the general population in China. Most participants considered that the association between air pollution and dementia was indirect. Caregivers of people with dementia appeared to have limited knowledge on dementia prevention. Health professionals identified several modifiable preventive measures to mitigate the impact of pollution on dementia but identified several challenges of sharing this knowledge with the public and eventually changing people’s behaviors.
Conclusion: Low awareness of dementia and high stigma around dementia must be overcome to help preventive measures against air pollution and dementia in China. Strengthening policy formulation and global cooperation is an important measure to tackle air pollution and its impact on dementia.
