Knowledge of dementia and Alzheimer's disease among healthcare professionals in Peru.

Background:  Primary care physicians and other healthcare providers report feeling unprepared to treat persons with dementia (PWD), especially in developing countries OBJECTIVE:  We aimed to assess the knowledge of dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) among health professionals in both primary and tertiary care in Peru.

Methods:  We conducted an in-person and virtual survey of healthcare professionals trained in Peru throughout the year 2020. The survey was developed based on a previously published one and reviewed by an expert panel. We compared groups using a Chi-squared test. A Bonferroni corrected p-value of 0.008 was used for statistical significance.

Results:  Out of 804 surveys, we excluded 56 due to incomplete data. A total of 41.6% of respondents were doctors and 21.8%, nurses. One fifth of participants did not recognize AD as a cause of dementia and over half considered "senile dementia" a valid clinical entity. Scores were higher among those with postgraduate training, multiple patients with dementia, or those who had practiced for over 10 years.

Conclusion:  There is a low level of knowledge of dementia and AD among health professionals in Peru, which worsens outside of Lima. Pernicious ideas, such as senile dementia, are still significantly present among respondents.