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49/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 49 out of 100. Digital health tools

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Background With the increasing number of people surviving into old age in Africa, dementia is becoming an important public health problem. Understanding the social dynamics of dementia in resource-poor settings is critical for developing effective interventions. We explored the socio-cultural beliefs surrounding dementia and the life experience of people with dementia (PWD) and their caregivers in the Hai District of Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Methods Cross-sectional qualitative design. Forty one PWD were purposively sampled from the Hai District of Kilimanjaro. Twenty five paired interviews with PWD and with caregivers, and 16 with caregivers alone, were conducted. Interviews were tape recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed using content analysis approach. Results Forty one PWD (26 females), aged 70 years and older, were recruited but due to speech difficulties only 25 participated in the interviews. Married were 13, widow in 22 and widower 6. The majority, 33/41 were illiterate. PWD and carers perceived memory problems as a normal part of ageing. Dementia was commonly referred as "ugonjwa wa uzeeni" (disease of old people) or memory loss disease. The majority of PWD 13/12 and carers 7/16 did not know what dementia is or what causes it. Dementia was felt to be associated with stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, old age, curse/witchcraft and life stress. Half of the participants had used modern care and alternative care such as herbs, prayers or traditional healers. Caregivers complained about the burden of caring for PWD and suggested that community organizations should be involved in addressing the problem. Conclusions Knowledge about dementia is low and the symptoms are accepted as a problem of old age. PWD and carers demonstrate pluralistic behaviour in seeking help from modern care, prayers and traditional healers. The disease adds significant burden to family members. Family and caregivers need more education on early recognition of symptoms and cost effective management of dementia at family level. Faith-based organizations could play an important role in dementia interventions. At a national level effective policy and improvement of the health care system to address the needs of PWD and their families are imperative.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Mushi, D., Rongai, A., Paddick, S. M., Dotchin, C., Mtuya, C., & Walker, R. (2014). Social representation and practices related to dementia in Hai District of Tanzania. BMC public health. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-260

Vancouver

Mushi D, Rongai A, Paddick SM, Dotchin C, Mtuya C, Walker R. Social representation and practices related to dementia in Hai District of Tanzania. BMC public health. 2014. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-260. PMID: 24642112.

BibTeX

@article{mushi2014-24642112,
  author  = {Mushi, D. and Rongai, A. and Paddick, S. M. and Dotchin, C. and Mtuya, C. and Walker, R.},
  title   = {{Social representation and practices related to dementia in Hai District of Tanzania}},
  journal = {BMC public health},
  year    = {2014},
  doi     = {10.1186/1471-2458-14-260},
  pmid    = {24642112},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-260}
}

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Key findings

Results Forty one PWD (26 females), aged 70 years and older, were recruited but due to speech difficulties only 25 participated in the interviews.
Dementia was felt to be associated with stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, old age, curse/witchcraft and life stress.
Caregivers complained about the burden of caring for PWD and suggested that community organizations should be involved in addressing the problem.
The disease adds significant burden to family members.

Why it matters

This cross-sectional qualitative study in Tanzania explored socio-cultural beliefs about dementia and the experiences of people with dementia and their caregivers. It describes beliefs and caregiver burden, not a treatment, cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.

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Study details

Study designcross-sectional
Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 49/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (BMC public health)
Journal's citation record	3 / 4	BMC Public Health: journal h-index 289 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	4 / 12	A snapshot of people at one point in time
Strength of evidence	1 / 5	Rated “low” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	1 / 5	2014 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	0 / 4	Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Effect reported	0 / 3	No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Studied in people	0 / 3	Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	4 / 7	Cited 87 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	2 / 5	6.2 citations a year over 14 year(s) since 2014
Impact for its field and year	3 / 6	Cited 3.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	2 / 6	Cited by 3 other studies in this library
Still being cited	2 / 4	Cited 25 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Richard William Walker: h-index 58 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	Newcastle University: institution h-index 932 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 3 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 24642112)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	49 / 100	—

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