ABSTRACT
This symposium embraces diversity and discovery to address contextual issues in aging, specifically issues of race and ethnicity in the study of cognitive health and Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia (ADRD). Rooks and colleagues compare dementia risk among African American and White men and women in the context of work using the longitudinal Health, Aging, and Body Composition data. They consider the effects of productive activities on dementia risk in gender stratified models, adjusting for socio-demographic and genetic factors. Siddiq and colleagues consider the contexts of migration. Using a multi-method approach, they establish priorities for interventions addressing ADRD risk among older adult immigrants and refugees from Afghanistan and the Middle-East and North Africa (MENA) in California. Sayed also investigates the context of migration, and uses qualitative data (N=31) to identify the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 on cognitive aging in Middle Eastern/Arab Americans immigrants and refugees in Michigan. Finally, Meier and colleagues consider contexts of metal exposure for cognitive decline among Latinos aged 65 and older using the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging. In total, this symposium highlights the benefits of reimagining contextual factors that influence ADRD to improve our understanding and the potential to reduce health disparities research in underrepresented racial and ethnic populations.
ABSTRACT
This study examines cognitive abilities, number of people in a social network, and presence of depressive symptoms among the "youngest old”, "middle old”, and "oldest old”, by ethnicity. A sample of 600 people;200 Blacks, 200 Whites, and 200 non-white Arabs were recruited for the survey. Those with missing data were omitted from analysis, which left 435. Data were collected via a computer assisted telephone survey. Data were analyzed using two-way ANOVAs. We found significant effects on cognition by ethnicity f(2,430)=2.71, p<0.05 and age group f(2,430)=11.24, p<0.001. There was a significant effect of the number of people in social networks on cognition across all groups f(2,430)=10.4, p<0.01. The presence of depressive symptoms was not a mediator. There was no significant interaction between ethnicity and age group, or ethnicity and social network structure.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This initiative is part of a program of research designed to maximize the health and quality of life within the large Arab-American community in Michigan through cultural/linguistic adaptations of the Alzheimer's Association's Living with Alzheimer's education and support strategies program. Further, we aim to break new ground in terms of explicitly focusing on family systems as part of a caregiver support intervention. METHODS: 10 families (two individuals from each, for a total of 20 individuals) signed up to attend the program. The program was offered twice virtually due to COVID-19, delivered by bi-lingual Arab American trainers. All participants were sent a link to an evaluation survey after completing the program (1=strongly disagree;5=strongly agree) on: the usefulness of the program, the tip sheet, the language of delivery, and Alzheimer's Association resources. Descriptive analysis was conducted to ascertain rating frequency. RESULTS: Session 1 was delivered in English. Results showed that overall, all respondents agreed that the program was useful in that they learned something new and improved their caregiving skills. Half reported they neither agree/disagree about whether the program met their expectations with. Less than half reported they planned to use the Alzheimer's Association resources available to them. Session 2 was delivered in Arabic. Results showed that overall, all respondents strongly agreed that the program was useful in that they learned something new and improved their caregiving skills. More than half strongly agreed the program met their expectations. More than half reported they planned to use the Alzheimer's Association resources available to them. When asked "What would you change about this program" replies from both sessions asked to receive more strategies on how to deal with family members with Alzheimer's. They also reported liking the Q&A time because that alleviated their feelings of the stigmatization of Alzheimer's. As one said, "I felt at ease talking and sharing my experience with people who know what am I talking about." CONCLUSION: Identifying successful and challenging elements of the adapted intervention will enable the creation of a program tool kit, which will set the stage for full-scale broader implementation in underserved diverse populations. © 2021 the Alzheimer's Association.