dementia is a neurological 
 disorder that brings about many social problems1 . given the increasing incidence of dementia prior to such efforts , however , it will be necessary to educate people about dementia and 
 correct negative perceptions2 . personal 
 knowledge of a disease has been reported to be associated with disease - related behaviors 
 ( recognition , help seeking , management , prevention)3 . help - seeking behavior may be limited because although people know 
 about a disease , they may not recognize the symptoms4 . similarly , help - seeking behavior increases with the level of 
 knowledge about the symptoms of a disease , demonstrating the importance of knowledge about a 
 disease5 . therefore , education about 
 diseases with symptoms that can be recognized is needed for early detection and future 
 health . in the future , students in health - related fields will provide services targeting patients 
 with dementia in the clinical field . thus , this study compared the knowledge of and 
 attitudes toward dementia between students in health - related and those in non - health - related 
 fields . the results of this study provide basic data and insights for professional training 
 related to dementia for the future health workforce . the subjects were students in health - related and non - health related fields ( hereafter , 
 health - related and non - health - related students , respectively ) at k university , which is 
 located in gyeongsangbuk - do , republic of korea , during the period of may 1 to 14 , 2014 . we explained the research process to the 
 subjects and received written consent for research participation . self - administered 
 questionnaires on knowledge about and attitudes toward dementia were distributed and 
 collected directly . questionnaires were distributed to 250 health - related students and 250 
 non - health - related students , and a total of 416 completed questionnaires were collected from 
 213 and 203 health - related and non - health - related students , respectively . all details of this study were 
 approved by the science research council of inje university . the questionnaire included 10 questions about demographic characteristics , 20 questions 
 about knowledge of dementia , and 10 questions about attitudes toward dementia . a tool 
 developed by the seoul metropolitan center for dementia was used for the questions about 
 knowledge of dementia . this tool scores 1 point for each correct answer and 0 points for 
 each incorrect answer , with a final score of 020 points . each 
 question uses a likert 5-point scale ranging from 1 point ( strongly agree ) to 5 points ( not 
 at all ) , and the overall score ranges from 1050 points . descriptive 
 statistics were carried out for the general characteristics of health - related and 
 non - health - related students , and independent two - sample t - tests were performed to analyze 
 differences in knowledge about and attitudes toward dementia between the two groups . the general characteristics of the subjects are listed in table 1table 1.characteristics of participantshealth - related students ( n=213)non - health students ( n=203)gendermale72 120 female141 83 presence or absence of family with dementiapresence297absence186217dementia informationyes188140no2563dementia knowledge sourcemass media155171expert1619people around1523professional data253other812*multiple answers . scores for knowledge of dementia according to field of study are presented in 
 table 2table 2.knowledge of dementia by majormean  sdhealth - related department 13.01  1.94non - health - related department12.03  2.53significant difference from the non - health - related department ( p < 
 0.05 ) . there was a significant difference in the scores for knowledge of dementia 
 between the two groups ( p < 0.05 ) . scores for attitudes toward dementia according to 
 field of study major are presented in table 
 3table 3.attitude toward dementia by majormean  sdhealth - related department 19.10  5.30non - health - related department21.41  6.55 significant difference from the non - health - related department ( p < 
 0.05 ) . these scores also showed a significant difference between the two groups ( p 
 < 0.05 ) . significant difference from the non - health - related department ( p < 
 0.05 ) significant difference from the non - health - related department ( p < 
 0.05 ) korea has an aging society , and the growing interest in dementia is reflected in the 
 numerous studies being carried out . the aim of this study was to compare knowledge about and 
 attitudes toward dementia between health - related and non - health - related students . the 
 results of this study demonstrated that health - related students had greater knowledge about 
 dementia and more positive attitudes toward dementia when compared with non - health - related 
 students . lee s 2009 study2 also reported that the 
 dementia knowledge scores of health - related students were significantly higher than those of 
 non - health - related students . this was considered attributable to the fact that 
 health - related students have more opportunities to encounter information about dementia and 
 the fact that they receive a more professional education about dementia than 
 non - health - related students . in addition , attitudes toward dementia have been reported to be 
 more positive with increased knowledge of dementia7 . according to studies on the relationship between knowledge and 
 attitudes toward dementia , individuals with more information about dementia showed more 
 positive attitudes toward dementia8 . 
 moreover , the quality of life of elderly individuals may vary depending on attitudes toward 
 elderly people with dementia9 . thus , gwon 
 suggested that it is important to teach proper awareness of and concepts about dementia 
 because knowledge of dementia is low in university students10 . therefore , education should be provided to health - related 
 students , the workforce that will provide professional health services in the future , so 
 that they can continuously cultivate professional knowledge of dementia and have a positive 
 attitude toward dementia . in addition , non - health - related students , part of the workforce 
 that will support the elderly in the future , should also be educated about dementia and 
 develop a positive attitude toward dementia through mass media and other means .
[ purpose ] this study compared the knowledge of and attitudes toward dementia between 
 health - related and non - health - related students . [ subjects ] the subjects consisted of a 
 total of 416 people , 213 health - related students and 203 non - health - related students , at k 
 university , which is located in gyeongsangbuk - do , republic of korea , between may 1 and 14 , 
 2014 . 
 [ methods ] the subjects answered a self - administered questionnaire about their 
 knowledge of and attitudes toward dementia . [ results ] there was a significant difference 
 in knowledge of and attitudes toward dementia between the two groups examined . 
 [ conclusion ] health - related students displayed higher knowledge of dementia and a more 
 positive attitude toward dementia compared with non - health - related students . in the 
 future , education to cultivate professional knowledge about dementia and enhance positive 
 attitudes toward dementia should be provided continuously to health - related students . 
 this 
 is because students in health - related fields will likely provide services to patients with 
 dementia in the clinical field . 
 additionally , as they will likely provide support to the 
 elderly in the future , non - health - related students also need to be educated about and 
 develop positive attitudes toward dementia .