Was Live Thu, May 9, 2024 | 11am PST
Guest Speakers
- Dr. Wynnelena C. Canio, Geriatric Medicine Practitioner, Medical Director at Kaiser Permanente San Rafael, Sonoma County Senior Advocacy Services Board of Directors member
- Dr. Mirella Diaz-Santos, UCLA Assistant Professor in Residence of Neurology, Director of Equity for Latino/Hispanic Healthy Aging Lab
- Anni Chung, President and CEO, Self Help for the Elderly
- Mereani Ikanivere, Founder, Prestige Care
Event Overview
The primary risk factor for Alzheimer’s is age, and California is older than it’s ever been, being home to more adults aged 65 and over than any other state.
Women are especially impacted by this disease, making up nearly two-thirds of those diagnosed and over 60% of caregivers. With 11 million women in the U.S. living with Alzheimer’s or caring for someone who has it, however, the disease is no less burdensome.
Women who have Alzheimer’s on the one hand risk social isolation, misdiagnosis and stigma, while women caring for those with Alzheimer’s risk adverse personal, professional and mental health consequences due to unpaid and informal caregiving responsibilities. In fact, over a third of U.S. dementia caregivers overall are daughters, while 19% of women Alzheimer’s caregivers have had to quit their job due to their caregiving duties.
In this briefing, Alzheimer’s practitioners, researchers, advocates and firsthand storytellers will discuss how and why Alzheimer’s disproportionately impacts women both as patients and caregivers, and what can be done to ease the toll.
