Attitude of Physiotherapy Students Towards People With Dementia

Introduction: It is important for the profession of physiotherapist to strengthen the personal, work and creative potential of students, their creativity and the use of new knowledge. All this contributes to empowering students to perform their profession in a quality manner and to strengthening their self-confidence. One of the important aspects in education for the profession of physiotherapist is also the emphasis on the attitude towards people with dementia. The physiotherapist is one of the members of a multidisciplinary team that offers quality treatment to people with dementia. Methods: In the research work we used a quantitative research approach, where we used the survey method to determine the attitudes of physiotherapy students towards dementia. The survey was conducted between October 2020 and January 2021 on a sample of 268 first-year students of the physiotherapy program at Alma Mater Europaea - European Center, Maribor. Results: The results of the research show that physiotherapy students mostly recognize the need for support for people with dementia and are aware of the importance of an appropriate approach in the physiotherapeutic treatment of people with dementia. They are also aware of certain limitations and abilities of people with dementia. Conclusions: The research confirms the positive attitude of physiotherapy students towards people with dementia, but in some areas their knowledge of the phenomenon of dementia is somewhat limited. Therefore, it is necessary to include some additional knowledge in the field of dementia and treatment of people with dementia in the study of physiotherapy.