HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Nearly six million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive condition defined by memory loss and eventual physical disabilities. In Michigan, an estimated 180,000 to 200,000 people have Alzheimer’s disease.
“There’s probably more (people with Alzheimer’s), who are not diagnosed yet or are resistant to getting diagnosed,” said Jean Barnas, programs director for the Michigan Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. (Listen to her full WHTC interview with morning news anchor Peg McNichol.)
Those figures don’t account for how the disease affects family members, neighbors or others who help people with dementia.
“It’s a family illness, a neighborhood illness. It’s a community-wide disease, really,” she said, adding “and it’s 24-7, because of behavioral changes,” and all of that is made more complicated by COVID-19.
She said people of color are disproportionately affected by this type of dementia. African Americans are twice as likely to get Alzheimer’s as whites; Latinos at one-and-a-half times more likely to get the disease than whites. People living in rural communities may not have transportation or the income needed to get critical care, either, she said.
Because people in those communities often lack access to healthcare, they are more likely to be diagnosed later, missing out of key opportunities to slow Alzheimer’s progress. Those caring for them miss critical support as well.
One way the Alzheimer’s Association is trying to help includes having robust online resources, as well as creating and expanding Spanish-language resources for people.
Tonight, the Alzheimer’s Association Michigan Chapter is hosting a 90-minute online event —from 5 to 6:30 p.m. today, Wednesday, March 3, 2021 — called the Dr. James S. Jackson Seminar on Health Equity and Alzheimer’s Disease. Visit alz.org/jackson-seminar to register or call the Helpline at (800) 272-3900.
Speakers and topics for the event include:
- Targeting Chronic Stress and Blood Pressure Self-Care to Prevent Cognitive Decline in African Americans Across the Lifespan – Kathy D. Wright, Ph.D., APRN-CNS, The Ohio State University College of Nursing, Chronic Brain Injury Program, Alzheimer’s Research Center of Excellence
- Health Inequality Contributes to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia: The Case of West Virginia – Bernard G. Schreurs, Ph.D., West Virginia University School of Medicine, WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute
- Alzheimer’s Disease and COVID-19: The Vicious Cycle of Inequality – Irving E. Vega, Ph.D., Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Michigan Center for Contextual Factors in Alzheimer’s Disease
- Culturally Responsive Caregiver Support: Developing Interventions for Everyone – Sheria G. Robinson-Lane, Ph.D., MSN, MHA, RN, University of Michigan School of Nursing, Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center
What: The Dr. James S. Jackson Seminar on Health Equity and Alzheimer's Disease
What: The Dr. James S. Jackson Seminar on Health Equity and Alzheimer's Disease
Date and Time: Wednesday, March 3; 5-6:30 p.m. The Event is Free
Summary: The Alzheimer’s Association is hosting a virtual seminar assembling some of the nation’s top
experts in the field of health equity and Alzheimer’s disease to discuss some of the latest research
involving underserved communities.e: Wednesday, March 3; 5-6:30 p.m. The Event is Free
Summary: The Alzheimer’s Association is hosting a virtual seminar assembling some of the nation’s top
experts in the field of health equity and Alzheimer’s disease to discuss some of the latest research
involving underserved communities.
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