Caregivers are the real unsung heroes of Alzheimer’s.
“They don’t get paid. African-Americans are only 13% of the population but we’re spending about 30% of the national costs of this disease and most of that is in caregiving,” said Stephanie Monroe, the director of the African American Network Against Alzheimer’s.
Monroe is referencing the 2013 report commissioned by the network on the economic burden of Alzheimer’s and other dementia for African-Americans, which found that while Blacks make up less than 14% of the U.S. population, they bear one-third of the nation’s total costs of Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
• Blacks give $43.6 billion yearly in unpaid caregiving for their loved ones with Alzheimer’s — more than 17.4 billion hours.
• Blacks between 40 and 64 years of age lost $6.1 billion (mostly from lost wages) in labor market productivity.
“That cost is really just a fraction of what the true cost is when you consider the psychic cost or the social cost that it has on the family. Because while people are caring for loved ones they’re not able to do other things that would be more productive and fulfilling for their lives,” noted Darrell Gaskin, director at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Disparities and the lead researcher on the report. Both Gaskin and Monroe stressed the importance of support for the caregivers.
“Ask that caregiver: What do you need? Can I get you groceries? Would you like to get your nails done? Would you like to take a Friday off and go to a movie?,” Monroe said. “We have caregivers that get sicker and die sooner than the person they’re taking care of because they neglect their health. That’s what we encourage people to really think about: caregiver health.”
“It’s not something to be embarrassed about. It’s something that’s unfortunately too common…there are groups that are willing to help and have developed ways in which to provide support to the caregivers,” Gaskin said. “So don’t hide your loved one away and don’t you hide.”
