Alzheimer’s San Diego address the challenges of living and caring for a loved one with dementia through free classes, support groups, and resources for the Latino community. In tandem with Hispanic Heritage Month Alzheimer’s SD is recognizing the stigma that is often a barrier to ensuring the best treatment and care, with the aim to provide Latino families with culturally competent, bilingual service, support options, free educational workshops, private consultations, and other important resources.
Eugenia Welch, president and CEO at Alzheimer’s San Diego said it is important for people in San Diego to know that all the nonprofit’s services are free to all people. She said individuals, loved ones, and caretakers can obtain services without a referral from a physician, medical insurance, or a diagnosis.
“Alzheimer’s San Diego is the only independent organization in San Diego committed to providing tailored, immediate support to those affected by dementia and their caregivers within our community. Because we’re a local nonprofit, we’re able to adapt our programs to meet the unique and evolving needs of our diverse populations here in the County,” she said.
Welch said ASD focuses only on residents of San Diego County, and the results of that is twofold.
“When you call in to talk with someone from our office, you are speaking to people who live in the same community that you are. If someone calls and says they need help for someone in La Mesa, our staff knows who direct them to. The other thing great about that is that all the money that we raise stays in San Diego County,” she said.
According to the Center for Disease Control, Hispanics are among the minority groups more likely to see the largest increase in Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias in the coming years. An estimated 5.8 million people live with dementia in the United States right now, that number is projected to more than double to 14 million by 2060, with Hispanics being impacted seven-fold. In San Diego County alone, it is estimated that there will be a 196% increase from 2019 to 2040 in the number of Latinos over the age of 65 with dementia.
Welch said the stigma around dementia in the Latino community stops individuals from seeking medical help, and even when they do, they would not mention memory issues because there is so much concern because of the stigma that surrounds it.
“Stigma is everywhere sadly, but Alzheimer’s is still looked at as a mental illness, and there is so much stigma around mental illness, that it carries over into this,” she said. “What really makes this difficult, is the best chance families have to get a good plan in place and prepare for what is coming down the road, is to get support early in the disease process. Because people do not want to talk about it in the early stages, they are not able to access that early support and resources. Another thing we here, is when people tell family and friends about their memory, people treat them differently, and people do not want that to happen to them.
Welch said along with the stigma, Hispanics historically have less access to medical care.
“Access to medical care is a huge issue in being able to get in to see the appropriate people. We are hearing that here in San Diego County, there is a three to six month wait to see a neurology specialist,” she said.
In a large study from the California Department of Health, it took Hispanic Americans 40% longer to be diagnosed, showing that they were less likely to be referred for neuropsychological testing. Marginalized populations can also have lower rates of prescriptions for anti-dementia medications. Additionally, only 44% of Hispanics with self-reported cognitive decline said they would discuss their symptoms with a healthcare professional, and 39% of those with subjective cognitive decline have experienced one or more barriers to access health care services.
Alzheimer’s SD offers all its programming in both English and Spanish.
“At Alzheimer’s San Diego, we want to make sure language isn’t a barrier. This is why we provide services in Spanish and find ways to make the Latino community feel welcomed and understood,” said Welch. “With easy access to trained professionals who speak their language, we hope to help families better understand what is happening and how they can help their loved one and themselves. We want to help families change some of the perceptions around memory loss and aging they may have.”
Nellie Hernández, MSc, dementia educator, Alzheimer’s San Diego, said as a bilingual educator, she focuses on going out into the Latino community about ASD, but more important, what dementia is.
“We are here to provide any resources that they might need to get them through their journey of dementia,” she said. “ASD is really trying to focus on helping the Latino population. Not only breaking the cultural stigmas, but to help them understand that dementia is not a normal part of aging, which is a common thought in the Hispanic community.”
Hernández said she believes that much of the stigma that still exists in the Latino community is due to lack of access to information, and even when they do, they have not reached the point where they are comfortable to ask questions or get guidance to what would work best for them.
“That is paired with the belief that if someone is on this journey, it takes more than one person to provide all the support needed to get through the journey,” she said. “This keeps people to continue to just look away or trying to make sure that everything stays within the home, when we know that that works against the folks who are going through the changes. When that happens, the generations in that household or family, they tend to know less and less on communicating about what is being seen within the house. If they are not talking about it, when someone else comes along, they are less likely to know what is going on. They just know that is an older person, a grandparent, a great uncle, a great aunt, and that is just the way they are, so leave them be.”
Hernández said the pride, lack of talking about the situation, prevents people from looking for the services needed for the individual dealing with dementia. She said education about dementia, and learning about the resources available to the patient, family, and caregivers, is essential in getting the best care for individuals dealing with memory loss.
“There is often a negative stigma attached to the word dementia in the Latino community. That stigma can lead families and individuals to ignore cognitive changes they’re seeing and hide the reality they’re facing. But this secrecy and hesitation ends up adding to the stress of dealing with memory loss and caring for loved ones who are experiencing memory loss. For this reason, it is important to break stigmas around AD and all forms of dementia and focus the attention on prioritizing early detection,” she said.
“Alzheimer’s San Diego is the only San Diego area dementia nonprofit organization to use 100% of their proceeds locally. This allows us to offer classes that are free of charge throughout the month at various key San Diego locations with morning, noon and evening options, among other services. And our ‘Cafecito con Alzheimer’s San Diego’ offers a warm welcome to the conversation of dementia with Latino families,” said Hernández.
Through free educational classes in Spanish, Alzheimer’s San Diego is catering to a demographic that has long stigmatized memory loss. By visiting its website alzsd.org/ espanol people can access information and resources, as well as class schedules all in Spanish. Additionally, there are videos about services and testimonials from families who have benefited from Alzheimer’s San Diego’s offerings in Spanish.
Welch said ASD has almost 40 support groups around the county.
“When you are in a room with other people and they understand what you are dealing with, it makes you feel validated, and you feel that you are not alone,” she said.
