Better Thinking
By Lindsay Walker, Executive Director for the Alzheimer’s Association, Cleveland Area Chapter
In my job, I get to meet people of all cultures and backgrounds.
As I meet people, it has occurred to me that dementia impacts everyone. It does not matter what ethnicity you are. Alzheimer’s and dementia can find you, wreck your loved one’s life, render them helpless and in the process have your family face critical decisions of care and support.
But it is also true that communities of color, particularly African Americans and Hispanic Americans, are disproportionately more likely than white Americans to have Alzheimer’s or other dementias. The Alzheimer’s Association in Northeast Ohio is working to bridge that health gap. Statistics show that particularly in the African American community, health inequities exist.
According to our statistics:
- African Americans are about twice as likely as Whites to have Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. Hispanics are 1.5 times more likely to have Alzheimer’s.
- African Americans are more prone to risk factors for vascular disease — like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol — which may also be risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and stroke-related dementia.
- African Americans and Hispanics are less likely to have a dementia diagnosis.
- When African Americans are diagnosed, they are typically diagnosed in the later stages of the disease, when they are more cognitively and physically impaired.
Since Alzheimer’s is a progressive, fatal brain disease that kills nerve cells and tissues in the brain, affecting an individual’s ability to remember, think, plan, speak, and walk, early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and diagnosis is critical. It allows families to have more options for treatment, such as drugs used in clinical trials, and it allows families to do legal and financial planning while the person with the disease is able to express their wishes.
New Community Outreach Efforts
The Alzheimer’s Association Cleveland Area Chapter and the Greater East Ohio Area Chapter are bolstering their community outreach efforts in Northeast Ohio.
We just hired the Rev. Frederick Sebastion Knuckles Sr. as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Program Manager. This is a new position for Rev. Knuckles, who has been in the ministry for 41 years and has served in the social services field in various management positions for more than 30 years. Presently, he is Senior Pastor of the New Fellowship Baptist Church of Cleveland and Moderator of the Progressive Baptist Association Cleveland and Vicinity.
He will help reach, educate and engage diverse communities in Northeast Ohio about the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, the need for early diagnosis and the free Alzheimer’s education and support services the organization provides.
The Association also has launched a Health Systems Initiative where we are pairing dementia experts with physician practices to raise their level of knowledge in diagnosing Alzheimer’s and providing care.
Also, the Alzheimer’s Association Cleveland Area Chapter is starting to offer dementia education programs in Spanish. We feel that all of these initiatives are important efforts to help us bridge the health gap.
We are here to help all families needing our services. Our 24/7 Helpline at 800.272.3900 is available any time you have a question. During business hours, feel free to contact us at 216.342.5556 or you can always go to https://www.alz.org/cleveland/helping_you.
As I said earlier, dementia impacts all communities and it is up to us to reach all in need.
Lindsay Walker is Cleveland Area Executive Director for the Alzheimer’s Association Cleveland Area Chapter. You can reach her at [email protected].
The Alzheimer’s Association is a worldwide voluntary health organization dedicated to Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Visit alz.org or call 800.272.3900.
