Increasing dementia diagnostic workup participation among at-risk Chinese older adults via risk communication: A...

This study examines whether structured risk communication strategies based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) and the Social Ecological Model (SEM) can increase participation in dementia diagnostic workups among at-risk older adults. A three-arm quasi-experiment was conducted in urban Shanghai, involving 198 at-risk older adults. Participants were divided into three groups: an unstructured communication group (n = 106), an HBM-based communication group (n = 46), and a SEM-based communication group (n = 46). The primary outcome was participation in dementia diagnostic workups within two months. The logistic regression results indicated that structured communication groups (HBM group and SEM group combined) showed significantly increased odds of participation than the control group. When analysed separately, both HBM- and SEM-based communication approaches effectively encouraged participation. Additionally, the SEM group demonstrated a marginally higher participation than the HBM group. This has highlighted the need for culturally sensitive, multi-level communication strategies in public health initiatives to improve management of dementia.