Author ORCID Identifier
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-25-2015
Abstract
Background. Parkinson's disease (PD) negatively affects the quality of life. There is limited information on PD published from Africa. Lack of adequate knowledge poses a barrier in the provision of appropriate treatment and care for individuals with PD. Methods. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in urban and rural Mukono district, central Uganda. Through the systematic sampling method, data were gathered from 377 adult participants, interviewed on selected aspects of PD knowledge and attitudes. Results. Of the 377 participants, 47% were from urban settings and 68% (260/377) were women with a median age (IQR) of 34 (26-48) years. Half of the study respondents did not know the body part involved in or apparent cause of PD. Nearly 1/3 of individuals believed that PD is a form of insanity and 17% believed that PD is contagious. Rural dwellers were more likely to have incorrect knowledge regarding selected aspects of PD. Conclusions. Understanding the cause of PD is very limited in our setting. Some beliefs about PD aetiology may potentially worsen stigma and social isolation. This study highlights the need for increasing PD awareness in our settings. Public health approaches that improve knowledge are urgently needed to promote care access and community response to Parkinson's disease.
Language
English
Publication Title
Parkinson's Disease
Rights
© The Author(s) 2015.This is an open access article under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Recommended Citation
Kaddumukasa, Mark, Kakooza, Angelina, Kaddumukasa, Martin N., Ddumba, Edward, Mugenyi, Levi, Sajatovic, Martha, Katabira, Elly, Knowledge and Attitudes of Parkinson′s Disease in Rural and Urban Mukono District, Uganda: A Cross-Sectional, Community-Based Study, Parkinson’s Disease, 2015, 196150, 7 pages, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/196150
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Manuscript Version
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