Exploring Knowledge and Awareness of Lewy body dementia among Staff in Long-Term Care Facilities

We developed an anonymous, self-reported online survey using survey monkey to assess healthcare staff knowledge, attitudes, and perceived practices (KAP) related to the care and support of residents with Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) in Long Term facilities (LTC) facilities. The questions utilised in this survey were adapted from analogous studies and surveys with modifications made to ensure relevance.
The survey consisted of three sections:
Section 1. Demographic information
Section 2. Knowledge of LBD: this section consisted of three statements and seven questions about LBD, including symptom recognition and LBD diagnostic criteria. Response options were: ‘agree’ or ‘disagree’; or ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Additionally, respondents were asked to rate their perceived level of knowledge of LBD on a scale from 1-10, with 1 indicating that they felt they had a very low level of knowledge of LBD and 10 indicating excellent knowledge of LBD. We also included an open-ended question asking participants to name any other forms of dementia that they knew of besides Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Section 3. Attitudes towards caring for people with LBD: this section consisted of five statements relating to job satisfaction, confidence levels, and willingness to engage in further training. Respondents were asked to rate their agreement to the statement on a five-level Likert scale, ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’. Response options to the statement “if training specific for dementia with Lewy bodies was offered to me I would sign up” were “yes”, “no” and “not sure”.
Prior to distribution, the survey underwent a pilot phase with n=13 respondents and was revised based on feedback before wider distribution. Once finalised, the survey was disseminated to LTC staff working in Ireland. The survey was disseminated online between March and July 2024 via email and social media circulation, as well as through in-person data collection within LTC facilities. Participation was voluntary, and respondents were encouraged to share the survey with their colleagues. LTC staff of all grades were eligible to complete the survey. Only participants over the age of 18 and currently employed as a staff member of an Irish LTC home were eligible to take part. Participants could be from any part of the Republic of Ireland.
Data analysis:
Descriptive statistics were conducted using StataNow/SE 18.5. Mean and standard deviation were calculated for continuous variables, while frequencies were calculated for categorical variables. The resulting composite knowledge scores were analysed using mean and standard deviation to characterise overall knowledge levels among respondents. A one-way ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey test was also performed to determine statistical differences in the composite score based on job role.