North Carolina Residents Concerned About Racial Barriers to Dementia and Alzheimer's Care, Poll Finds

Two national surveys in the Alzheimer's Association 2021 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures Report indicate that people believe or have experienced racial discrimination in access care for dementia and Alzheimer's disease, reports WXII 12 . Thirty-six percent of Black Americans, 18 percent of Hispanic Americans, and 19 percent of Asian Americans consider discrimination a barrier to receiving care for Alzheimer's. Meanwhile, more than half of nonwhite caregivers reported experiencing discrimination when navigating healthcare environments for care recipients. These findings are particularly serious in consideration of projected trends in North Carolina, with 210,000 state residents expected to be living with Alzheimer's and 358,000 North Carolinians serving as unpaid family caregivers in 2025. "We must continue to work toward advancing new treatments that can stop or slow the progression of Alzheimer's, while also continuing to provide care and support services to help all those affected," emphasized Katherine L. Lambert with the Alzheimer's Association's Western Carolina Chapter.