Paper Title
DETERMINING THE AWARENESS OF INDIVIDUALS FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY

Abstract
Abstract - This descriptive study was conducted with 429 people in Samsun, Turkey between November 2020 and April 2021. The data collection form consists of 35 questions about socio-demographic characteristics and Alzheimer's disease. Data analysis was performed with SPSS package program using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test. The mean age of the participants was 36.63 ± 10.67 years and 70.2% of them were women. 22.8% of the participants participating in the study have Alzheimer's in their family. For the prevention of Alzheimer's, 43.7% of the participants stated that they rarely solve puzzles, 46.7% frequently pay attention to their nutrition, 41.8% frequently sleep regularly. When Alzheimer's awareness levels were examined, 23.2% of the participants stated that they saw Alzheimer's as a natural result of old age, and 19.7% stated that it was more common in women. 70.9% of the participants stated that a healthy diet reduces the incidence of the disease, 75.4% of them stated that regular exercise reduces the incidence of the disease, 53.1% of the participants stated that smoking increases the incidence of the disease, 59.9% of them stated that living alone increases the incidence of the disease, and 35% of them stated that Alzheimer's is genetic. According to the results of the study, almost half of the participants stated that they practiced to prevent Alzheimer's disease, and it can be said that their awareness of Alzheimer's disease is at a moderate level. Keywords - Alzheimer, Awareness, Nursing, Descriptive