Evaluation of knowledge of Alzheimer disease among health university students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge of Alzheimer disease among healthcare students of King Saud University, Riyadh Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey was conducted via an online questionnaire using google form as the main platform to collect the data. We included Pharmacy, medical and dental students, who are studying at king Saud University, Riyadh Saudi Arabia during February to March 2019. RESULTS: A total of 671 healthcare students responded to the study, and a total of 529 participants completely filled the survey with a response rate 79%. Majority (70.1%) of the student studied about Alzheimer disease in their college life, only 16.6% were not and 13.2% of them not remember. Most of the respondents 373 (70%) answered correctly and said that Alzheimer disease is related to mental disorders, although majority of 73.5% knew that Alzheimer disease is a Neurodegenerative disease. There was significant difference in knowledge score of medical and dental students (p = 0.001), Pharmacy and dental students (p = 0.003) respectively. CONCLUSION: Saudi healthcare students have variation in knowledge about Alzheimer disease. To increase levels of knowledge, it is necessary to provide adequate education Programme and training is needed in healthcare colleges. We suggest further studies with large sample sizes to identify the effectiveness of Alzheimer disease education programs healthcare schools are warranted.