J Educ Eval Health Prof.  2013;10:4.

United States medical students' knowledge of Alzheimer disease

• Nagle BJ
• Usita PM
• Edland SD

Abstract

PURPOSE
A knowledge gap exists between general physicians and specialists in diagnosing and managing Alzheimer disease (AD). This gap is concerning due to the estimated rise in prevalence of AD and cost to the health care system. Medical school is a viable avenue to decrease the gap, educating future physicians before they specialize. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge level of students in their first and final years of medical school.
METHODS
Fourteen participating United States medical schools used e-mail student rosters to distribute an online survey of a quantitative cross-sectional assessment of knowledge about AD; 343 students participated. Knowledge was measured using the 12-item University of Alabama at Birmingham AD Knowledge Test for Health Professionals. General linear models were used to examine the effect of demographic variables and previous experience with AD on knowledge scores.
RESULTS
Only 2.5% of first year and 68.0% of final year students correctly scored ten or more items on the knowledge scale. Personal experience with AD predicted higher knowledge scores in final year students (P=0.027).
CONCLUSION
Knowledge deficiencies were common in final year medical students. Future studies to identify and evaluate the efficacy of AD education programs in medical schools are warranted. Identifying and disseminating effective programs may help close the knowledge gap.

Keyword

Alzheimer disease; Dementia; Physician training; Physician assessment; Medical education; Educational measurement

MeSH Terms

Alabama
Alzheimer Disease*
Delivery of Health Care
Dementia
Education
Education, Medical
Educational Measurement
Electronic Mail
Health Occupations
Humans
Linear Models
Prevalence
Schools, Medical
Specialization
Students, Medical
United States*

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Comparison of the proportion of correct answers by the first year versus final year students according to items, taken from the email survey with the University of Alabama at Birmingham Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Test for Health Professionals, obtained from 343 medical students in 14 medical schools in the United States. *P< 0.05, **P< .001.

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