Attitudes toward preventive neurology care: A cross-sectional survey study

BackgroundUp to 45% of dementia cases due to Alzheimer's disease may be preventable, but implementation of risk-reduction programs have lagged in the United States.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to understand whether belief in effectiveness, or interest in implementing risk-reducing interventions among healthcare consumers and providers are driving this lag.MethodsA survey was administered online using both directed and free-response questions. Directed questions were translated from Likert scales to numeric, while free-response questions were multi-operator coded and analyzed for themes.ResultsA total of 2054 full or partial responses were recorded; a majority of consumer respondents identified as White, Female, and between the ages of 51 and 79. Consumers were more interested in lifestyle than pharmaceutical interventions (Likert mean 4.5 versus 3.5, p < 0.0001), and were most interested in personalized risk reduction plans (mean 4.82, p < 0.001). Healthcare providers had higher belief in lifestyle interventions than pharmaceutical interventions (means 3.86 and 2.81, p < 0.0001), and they showed interest in medical education, referral networks, and blood biomarker testing (mean 4.15; 69%/58% of responses). Free response coding suggested that healthcare providers want to provide preventive neurology services but want guidance and education.ConclusionsBoth healthcare consumers and providers show interest in preventive neurology offerings. Our data suggest there is substantial demand for this type of care and that measures should be taken to increase clinical preventive neurology capacity.