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Can providing culturally tailored resources for family members who care for Filipino Americans with Alzheimer’s improve care?
Mary Dioise Ramos, Ph.D.
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw, GA - United States
Background
Older, Asian adults are one of the fastest growing populations in the United States. One of the major risk factors for Alzheimer’s is aging. Consequently, the population of Southeast Asian American individuals with Alzheimer’s may also be growing.
Asian subgroups also face health inequalities, for example, Filipino American adults have a higher rate of developing diabetes, compared to Chinese American adults. Filipino Americans are the third largest Asian American subgroup and had the most cases of dementia among the Asian American subgroups. Dr. Mary Dioise Ramos and colleagues believe that providing culturally and linguistically appropriate education on the healthcare system to caregivers and individuals living with dementia may help improve Filipino American health care.
Research Plan
Dr. Ramos and colleagues plan to identify challenges and opportunities regarding managing healthcare of Filipino Americans with Alzheimer’s and related dementia through interviews with community leaders, healthcare providers, and community partners. Using surveys and focus groups, they will assess the quality of life of Filipino Americans with Alzheimer’s and related dementia, as well as their care partners. They will also examine the caregiving experiences—the impact of the burden, socio-emotional support, and health literacy.
Using the information gathered from these interviews, surveys, and focus groups, Dr. Ramos and colleagues will develop community education programs specific to Filipino American care partners of individuals with Alzheimer’s and related dementia. They will also develop a website with resources related to health and literacy for the community.
Impact
This project may help better understand the specific needs of care partners of Filipino Americans with Alzheimer’s and related dementia. The findings from this study may help reduce care partner stress and could help to build support for these individuals.
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