Comparison of Dementia Awareness among Medical Technicians: Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare dementia awareness among physiotherapists and occupational therapists who treat dementia patients and provide opportunities to increase dementia awareness as medical technicians, expand the scope of treatment, and enhance professionalism. Methods: An online survey was conducted from January 8th to 19th, 2021 for physical therapists who are members of the Korean Physical Therapist Association and Occupational therapists who are members of the Korean Occupational Therapists Association. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS 21.0 program. To verify the difference in the awareness of dementia among medical technicians, a t-test was performed, and the chi-square test was used to analyze the difference in the responses for each question. Results: In this study, occupational therapists had a significantly higher average and standard deviation than physical therapists. Occupational therapists also had a significantly higher level of dementia awareness, including dementia symptom-related, dementia disease-related, and dementia therapy knowledge. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that various educational initiatives and systems should be developed to help medical professionals increase their awareness and interest on dementia as a community, which can enable them to move in the same treatment direction with a common goal.