The importance of population knowledge for Alzheimer's prevention and diagnosis

Abstract

Objective: To promote health education about Alzheimer's disease among the elderly population of a Family Health Strategy (FHS) unit in the Amazon region. Experience report: The project was developed following the Maguerez Arc, in which Nursing students first visited an ESF focusing on elderly care. Many elderly people were diagnosed late, and this population did not know about preventive strategies for the disease. After a period of theorizing and surveying the literature on Alzheimer's disease, the researchers returned to the ESF and carried out an action plan involving health education, through the distribution of folders and mini-lectures on the disease, the distribution of word searches, as well as the application of electronic mnemonic games (Simon Task) to the group of elderly people. Final considerations: The population's lack of knowledge is a problem for the necessary treatment and diagnosis of the disease. There is still a lack of information about Alzheimer's, both in terms of understanding the disease itself and its manifestations throughout the individual's life. In this sense, the approach established generated engagement and provided information on prevention and diagnosis of the disease.