PUBLIC-EDUCATION ABOUT NORMAL FORGETFULNESS AND DEMENTIA - IMPORTANCEAND EFFECTS

In the Netherlands considerable attention has been given to dementia, but hardly any is paid to normal forgetfulness. Two information meetin gs about the differences between normal forgetfulness and dementia wer e oganized in order to meet current information needs. Evaluation of t hose meetings gave more insight into the characteristics of people who are worried about their diminishing memory and provided the opportuni ty of measuring changes in knowledge and anxiety. Almost 50% of the 45 0 participants indicated that they were worried about their memory; 66 % of these people reported being more or less reassured afterwards. Al though the level of knowledge increased, no correlation was found betw een increased knowledge and decreased anxiety. Because of people's anx iety about possible dementia, it is important to provide the general p ublic with more information about this subject. More research, with a control group, is necessary to draw conclusions about the effectivenes s of health education in this area.