In two Texas counties along the border with Mexico, 20 to 25 percent of seniors have Alzheimer's or related dementias. Those rates are among the highest in the US and represent a mostly Latino population. But Latinos are underrepresented in Alzheimer's clinical trials. Physician and neurologist Dr. Gladys Maestre is changing that at her NIH-funded Alzheimer's research center in the Rio Grande Valley, the first of its kind in Texas. She's using a "place-based" approach to dementia care, bringing her Latina identity and cultural knowledge to investigate the social, environmental, and biological factors that influence brain health.
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In two Texas counties along the border with Mexico, 20 to 25 percent of seniors have Alzheimer's or related dementias. Those rates are among the highest in the US and represent a mostly Latino population. But Latinos are underrepresented in Alzheimer's clinical trials. Physician and neurologist Dr. Gladys Maestre is changing that at her NIH-funded Alzheimer's research center in the Rio Grande Valley, the first of its kind in Texas. She's using a "place-based" approach to dementia care, bringing her Latina identity and cultural knowledge to investigate the social, environmental, and biological factors that influence brain health.
Ai-Jen Poo is an activist and lobbyist who has sought better pay for caregivers and greater access to in-home care for people who need it. Many of us who care for an aging parent rely on the help of a paid caregiver, someone to fill in when we're not available or just need a few hours off. Those professional home care aides take on demanding, intimate work that allows elderly people to stay at home rather than move into a nursing home, and yet on average, they make just $11 an hour. Ai-Jen tells Kitty how her grandmother and grandfather inspired her work, and the policy changes she thinks the United States needs to fix its elder care system.
Twenty-Four Seven: A Podcast About Caregiving
In two Texas counties along the border with Mexico, 20 to 25 percent of seniors have Alzheimer's or related dementias. Those rates are among the highest in the US and represent a mostly Latino population. But Latinos are underrepresented in Alzheimer's clinical trials. Physician and neurologist Dr. Gladys Maestre is changing that at her NIH-funded Alzheimer's research center in the Rio Grande Valley, the first of its kind in Texas. She's using a "place-based" approach to dementia care, bringing her Latina identity and cultural knowledge to investigate the social, environmental, and biological factors that influence brain health.
