{"id":267919,"date":"2024-04-04T20:24:44","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T03:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/?p=267919"},"modified":"2024-04-04T20:25:40","modified_gmt":"2024-04-05T03:25:40","slug":"fight-stigmas-alzheimers-ethnic-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/fight-stigmas-alzheimers-ethnic-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"Fighting Stigmas of Alzheimer\u2019s in Ethnic Communities"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Alzheimer\u2019s disease is the second leading cause of death for Californians, but the stigma surrounding it poses a barrier to many communities accessing assistance. To address this issue, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdph.ca.gov\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">California Department of Public Health (CDPH)<\/a> is initiating Take on Alzheimer\u2019s, a new campaign designed to mitigate stigma by educating Californians on recognizing the disease and navigating life post-diagnosis.<\/p>\n<p>In a recent media briefing on March 29th, hosted by <a href=\"https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ethnic Media Services<\/a>, a panel of experts delved into the pervasive stigma surrounding the disease and how to combat taboos surrounding Alzheimer\u2019s and related forms of dementia within diverse communities such as Latino, Black, AAPI, and LGBT+ populations.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Speakers<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-267920 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/03-29-24-Alzheimers-ethnic-stigmas.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"156\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/03-29-24-Alzheimers-ethnic-stigmas.jpg 800w, https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/03-29-24-Alzheimers-ethnic-stigmas-300x59.jpg 300w, https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/03-29-24-Alzheimers-ethnic-stigmas-150x29.jpg 150w, https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/03-29-24-Alzheimers-ethnic-stigmas-768x150.jpg 768w, https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/03-29-24-Alzheimers-ethnic-stigmas-672x131.jpg 672w, https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/03-29-24-Alzheimers-ethnic-stigmas-400x78.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Dr. Luc\u00eda Abascal<\/b>, CDPH<\/li>\n<li><b>Dr. Dolores Gallagher Thompson<\/b>, Professor Emerita, Dept. of Psychiatry &amp; Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine<\/li>\n<li><b>Dr. Mar\u00eda Aranda<\/b>, USC Professor of Social Work and Gerontology, and Executive Director of USC Suzanne Dworak Peck School of Social Work<\/li>\n<li><b>Lunae Chrysanta<\/b>, Manager of Training and Transformation, Openhouse SF<\/li>\n<li><b>Petra Niles<\/b>, Alzheimer&#8217;s Los Angeles &#8211; Senior Manager, Education &amp; Outreach, African American Community<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Alzheimer\u2019s stands as the leading cause of death among Californians aged 85 and above, particularly significant in a state with a sizable older adult population. Dr. Luc\u00eda Abascal highlighted the anticipated growth of Alzheimer&#8217;s cases as the population ages, with communities of color facing a disproportionate risk.<\/p>\n<p>According to a recent report by CDPH, the number of California adults living with Alzheimer\u2019s is projected to surge by 127% by 2040, reaching nearly 1.6 million individuals.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Abascal emphasized the importance of reducing stigma surrounding Alzheimer\u2019s diagnosis for improved patient outcomes. The Take on Alzheimer\u2019s campaign aims not only to raise awareness about the escalating issue but also to challenge misconceptions by collaborating with community organizations statewide.<\/p>\n<h4>Unique Challenges in Communities<\/h4>\n<p>In Chinese and Vietnamese communities, caregiving often induces significant stress, particularly among middle-aged daughters who balance caring for elderly parents and their own children. Dr. Dolores Gallagher Thompson highlighted the prevalence of depression among Asian caregivers and the need for holistic family-centered care approaches.<\/p>\n<p>Within Vietnamese communities, war-associated PTSD further complicates caregiving, underscoring the importance of sharing experiences and coping mechanisms to support caregivers effectively.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, the Latino community grapples with stigma surrounding Alzheimer&#8217;s, inhibiting open discussions about memory loss. Latino families are also disadvantaged with some having limited access to the internet and accurate information. Dr. Mar\u00eda Aranda emphasized the societal and personal fears that prevent early diagnosis and access to care among Latino families.<\/p>\n<p>In the LGBT+ community, fear of discrimination impedes access to care for older adults with Alzheimer\u2019s. Lunae Chrysanta underscored the historical trauma experienced by LGBT+ elders, especially with the rise of HIV and AIDS in the 80s.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Roughly 3,500 people reported to being discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, underscoring the need of tailored support programs to alleviate barriers to care.<\/p>\n<p>Among Black Americans, stigma and misconceptions about memory loss as a natural part of aging hinder timely diagnosis and treatment. When going for checking up, about half of those reaching out have reported to being discriminated against. Petra Niles emphasized the importance of building trust between healthcare providers and the Black community to address Alzheimer\u2019s disparities effectively.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Moving Forward<\/h4>\n<p>Efforts to combat stigma and increase awareness about Alzheimer\u2019s are crucial to ensure affected individuals receive timely and appropriate care. By fostering inclusive dialogue and community engagement, initiatives like Take on Alzheimer\u2019s strive to dismantle barriers and improve outcomes for all individuals impacted by the disease.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alzheimer\u2019s disease is the second leading cause of death for Californians, but the stigma surrounding it poses a barrier to many communities accessing assistance. To address this issue, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is initiating Take on Alzheimer\u2019s, a new campaign designed to mitigate stigma by educating Californians on recognizing the disease and&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/fight-stigmas-alzheimers-ethnic-communities\/\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":267921,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4786,275,1848],"tags":[3849,63362,15126,56063,56062,63364,58872,63365,5209,5210,11036,15522,63367,63368,63369,63234,63366],"class_list":["post-267919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-news","category-community","category-society","tag-aapi","tag-black-americans","tag-california-2","tag-california-department-of-public-health","tag-cdph","tag-dr-dolores-gallagher-thompson","tag-dr-lucia-abascal","tag-dr-maria-aranda","tag-ems","tag-ethnic-media-services","tag-latinos","tag-lgbtq","tag-lunae-chrysanta","tag-openhouse-sf","tag-petra-niles","tag-stanford-university-school-of-medicine","tag-usc-suzanne-dworak-peck-school-of-social-work"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267919\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}