292269
Mantenga su mente activa: Increasing awareness of alzheimer's disease in the Latino community through multifaceted awareness campaign
Paul Aguilar, MPH,
Institute for Hispanic Health, National Council of La Raza, Washington, DC
Denise Daniel, MPH,
Institute for Hispanic Health, National Council of La Raza, Washington, DC
According to the Alzheimer's Association, with the high prevalence of associated risk factors, such as older age, low socioeconomic status, and the presence of vascular disease, Latinos face a greater risk of Alzheimer's disease than the general population. In fact, older Hispanics are at least 1.5 times more likely than older Whites to suffer from Alzheimer's and other dementias. Experts estimate that by 2050, the number of individuals aged 65 and older with Alzheimer's is projected to number between 11 million and 16 millionmore than double today's incidence. To address this issue the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) developed and implemented an Alzheimer's education program, Mantenga Su Mente Activa. The program has been adopted by 24 community-based organizations from NCLR's national affiliate network and continues to be shared among their Latino constituents. The backbone of the program used NCLR's promotores de salud (community health workers) model. This was complemented by community awareness campaigns that used a Spanish-language radio PSA and a Spanish-language awareness video. Mantenga Su Mente Activa has reached over 3,500 Latinos in 20 communities through face-to-face programming, while the PSA and video have reached over 7 million impressions nationwide. Participants in the educational program have demonstrated increased knowledge and awareness of Alzheimer's symptoms, risk factors, and resources. There was, for example, a 250% increase in the number of participants that could identify at least one support resource for Alzheimer's disease.
Learning Areas:
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Learning Objectives:
Describe the need for a culturally competent and linguistically appropriate campaigns to effectively increase knowledge and awareness among Latinos about Alzheimer’s disease
Discuss methods of effectively linking Latinos, including caregivers, to available support groups and services
Identify strategies for effectively communicating information regarding Alzheimer’s disease among Latinos
Keyword(s): Latinos, Community Health Programs
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have several years of research experience, both in an academic and professional setting. Most recently, I have been the project coordinator for several projects focused on educating Latinos on various health issues. I have contributed to these from their initial, formative stages to their implementation and evaluation.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
