AARP Study Shows Stigma Surrounding Dementia among Healthcare Professionals and General Public

With the numerous efforts currently focused on educating the public about dementia, from clinical programs to research to podcasts (like this one), how much is stigma surrounding cognitive decline affecting public understanding? On today’s podcast, Sarah Lock, Senior Vice President for Policy for AARP, discusses just that. This year, the AARP published a report on a survey focused on how the general American population and particular subgroups perceive dementia and dementia diagnoses. The survey found that the general public and health care professionals have many misperceptions about dementia, including overestimations about their likelihood to develop dementia and the shame they might feel about a diagnosis. Describing the contrasting perceptions between clinicians and the public and the impacts of stigma on dementia policy, Lock details the ways this survey will allow the AARP to build on their existing programs about brain health to better educate the public about dementia and the ways it affects a person’s life. Guest: Sarah Lenz Lock, Senior Vice President for Policy, AARP, Executive Director of the Global Council on Brain Health Episode Topics 1:48 - Can you share what went into making the survey and who completed them? 5:05 - What did the survey find? How do people think about their own risk? 7:14 - Can you speak about those key findings surrounding stigma and dementia? 9:43 - What do you make of the stigma's connection to the fear of not being able to drive anymore? 12:48 - What key findings did you find about the clinicians who completed the survey? 15:32 - One finding from the survey showed that healthcare providers overestimated the shame and embarrassment that a person would experience with a diagnosis. What were other perceptions that clinicians overestimated in the survey? 17:20 - From a policy perspective, does the United States need to change its recommendations surrounding dementia screenings? 20:01 - Could you share the true benefits of early diagnoses, based on the survey and what you see within the AARP? 21:21 - Did the survey find any differences in the perceptions among different racial groups? 23:28 - How do you define brain health? What is the AARP doing to spread information about brain health? Show Notes Learn more about Sarah Lock and her work at her bio on the AARP website. For a summary of the key findings of the AARP’s report, read this article by the AARP. To access the full report and its findings, find it here on the AARP website. Find us Online - Dementia Matters Website | ADRC Facebook | ADRC Twitter