Dementia knowledge among nursing students in Albania: A cross-sectional study

Background: Dementia is a growing public health challenge, and nurses require adequate knowledge to provide safe, person-centred care. Limited curricular coverage and restricted clinical exposure may leave nursing students insufficiently prepared. 
Objective: To assess dementia-related knowledge among undergraduate and postgraduate nursing students at the University of Elbasan, Albania, and to examine whether knowledge differed by selected sociodemographic and educational characteristics. 
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 252 third-year Bachelor’s and Master’s nursing students. Knowledge was measured using the 21-item Dementia Knowledge Assessment Tool 2.0 (D-KAT2). Descriptive statistics and independent-samples t-tests were performed in IBM SPSS Statistics version 27.0. 
Results: The mean D-KAT2 score was 13.94 ± 2.67 out of 21 (66.4% of the maximum). The lowest correct-response rates concerned sudden increases in confusion (25.4%), the effect of environmental changes (31.7%), and recognition of pain in advanced dementia (35.7%). Knowledge scores did not differ significantly by gender, residence, education level, or previous care experience (all p > 0.05). 
Conclusion: Students demonstrated partial dementia knowledge, with important gaps in clinical recognition and care. Dedicated dementia modules, simulation-based learning, and structured clinical exposure should be strengthened within nursing curricula in Albania.