Knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of Parkinson's disease: A cross-sectional survey of Asian patients

Background: A knowledge gap about Parkinson's disease (PD) often exists amongst PD patients, the level and accuracy of which can influence their attitude and perceptions about the disease. Increased awareness of this information deficit can help physicians identify interventions that will improve patient's knowledge and perceptions about PD. Objectives: To evaluate general understanding of PD and identify knowledge gaps amongst PD patients using a validated PD knowledge questionnaire. Methods: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted in 108 PD patients (34 working; 74 retired). The questionnaire covers three domains of PD, including diagnosis, therapeutic options, and disease course with a total knowledge score ranging from 0 to 26. Subjects with dementia were excluded. Results: Patient misconceptions were reflected in the mean (SD) total; diagnosis, therapeutic options, and disease course scores: 14.64 (3.32), 7.76 (1.93), 3.85 (1.28), and 3.03 (1.41) respectively. The working age subgroup had significantly higher knowledge scores than the retired age group for the whole questionnaire (p = 0.004), as well as the diagnosis (p = 0.001) and therapeutic sections (p = 0.023). Three dependent variables, including younger age at recruitment (<60 years old), female gender, and higher disease duration (>= 4 years), were identified as predictors of a higher level of PD knowledge amongst PD patients. Conclusion: Significant knowledge gaps were identified amongst PD patients in all three aspects of the questionnaire. Timely identification of patients with inaccurate or insufficient disease-related knowledge could help healthcare professionals choose more suitable multimodal educational interventions. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.