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Attitudes towards dementia among Chinese adults aged 50 years and older: a comparative study of immigrants living in Melbourne and nonimmigrants living in Beijing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2022

Mei Zhao Open the ORCID record for Mei Zhao [Opens in a new window] ,
Haifeng Zhang ,
Xiaoping Lin ,
Emily You ,
Huali Wang Open the ORCID record for Huali Wang [Opens in a new window]  and
Nicola T. Lautenschlager
Mei Zhao
Affiliation:
Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Haifeng Zhang
Affiliation:
Dementia Care & Research Center, Peking University Institute of Mental Health (Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China Beijing Dementia Key Lab, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Peking University, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Beijing, China
Xiaoping Lin
Affiliation:
Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Emily You
Affiliation:
Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Huali Wang*
Affiliation:
Dementia Care & Research Center, Peking University Institute of Mental Health (Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China Beijing Dementia Key Lab, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Peking University, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Beijing, China
Nicola T. Lautenschlager
Affiliation:
Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia NorthWestern Health, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Huali Wang, Dementia Care & Research Center, Peking University Institute of Mental Health (Sixth Hospital), No.51 Huayuanbei Road, Beijing 100191, China. Fax: +86-10-62606310. Email: huali_wang@bjmu.edu.cn
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Abstract

Objectives:

This study investigated attitudes towards dementia among Chinese immigrants aged 50 years and over living in Australia and compares these attitudes with those of individuals living in mainland China. It aimed to better understand what older Chinese adults think about dementia and to inform the development of tailored dementia-related services for this group of people.

Design:

A qualitative design involving individual interviews was employed in this study.

Participants:

Forty-six participants were recruited: 21 in Melbourne and 25 in Beijing. All interviewees were born in mainland China, were community-dwelling, and did not have a dementia diagnosis.

Measurements:

The tripartite model of attitudes was used to guide the semi-structured interview design and report the results. Thematic qualitative analysis was employed.

Results:

In both groups, most participants held negative feelings, stigmatized views and negative stereotypes of dementia. However, most participants expressed a willingness to help individuals living with dementia. Regarding dementia care, nearly all participants preferred home care but thought formal care would become the mainstream form of care in the future. Fewer Melbourne participants expressed concerns regarding developing dementia, were interested in dementia, or perceived a need for dementia-related educational activities. Melbourne participants also reported more avoidant responses to dementia or individuals living with dementia.

Conclusion:

This study carefully compares attitudes towards dementia between older Chinese immigrants in Melbourne and older Chinese adults in Beijing. Similarities and differences were observed between these two groups. Dementia-related service providers should consider the sociocultural changes and migration-related barriers experienced by Chinese immigrants.

Keywords

cross-nationalmigration experiencedementia attitudesthe tripartite model of attitudes
Type
Original Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 35 , Special Issue 1: Issue Theme: Ageism, Dementia, and Culture , January 2023 , pp. 29 - 42
Copyright
© International Psychogeriatric Association 2022

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Footnotes

†

Senior author.

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