Type:
Educational Exhibit
Keywords:
Neuroradiology brain, CT, Health policy and practice, Dementia
Authors:
N. Moore, T. Foley, T. O'Sullivan, M. F. McEntee, R. Young, I. Hartigan, T. O'Rourke, A. Fleming, A. Cole
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2023/C-23588
Findings and procedure details
Results
There were 152 students in attendance at the workshop, and 102 students participated in completing the pre-and post-workshop surveys. Overall student performance on knowledge questions using the 30-item Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale (AKDS)8 was good with overall mean knowledge scores of 23.4 pre-workshop indicating that 78% of answers were correct. An increase to a mean score of 24.8 post-workshop did not demonstrate any statistically significant difference. This may be reflective of the latter stage that the students were at in their respective programmes. It is also worth considering that the AKDS has been noted as not being an exhaustive assessment tool but rather reflective of a person’s general knowledge on the subject and was designed for laypeople and caregivers, as well as professionals. It is therefore acknowledged that it may have ceiling effects in more specialised groups8.
Healthcare students reported a 71% improvement in their confidence levels to communicate with people with dementia following attendance at the workshop (Fig 3). There was also a self-reported increase of 68% in confidence that a person with dementia would likely understand the students’ explanation of a procedure (Fig 4). Students also improved their awareness of other healthcare professionals’ roles in caring for those with dementia (Fig 5). Giving students exposure to different perspectives can help students understand how each profession can contribute to the care of those with dementia, and how communication between healthcare professionals can be improved.
In addition to the above improvements this workshop was very well received by students with the main highlights described by students as
- the personal story of the patient advocate which was described as exceptionally interesting and informative and
- the interactive interdisciplinary aspect of the workshop as it improved learning about and from each other.