African Americans with memory loss: findings from a community clinic in Lexington, Kentucky.
Kentucky's African-American Dementia Outreach Partnership (AADOP) has shown that African-American patients seek dementia care if a clinic is conveniently located and families are educated about the distinction between normal aging and signs of disease. The early identification of dementia allows African Americans access to pharmaceutic treatments that work best early in the course of the disease and provides the opportunity for the patient to plan future care. In the AADOP model, a conveniently located clinic and access to the patient's home were first steps in achieving equality of care. The trust that was built in the community through collaboration with African-American churches has allowed patients and their families to receive help with memory problems and to feel comfortable in seeking help for other medical problems. Maintaining this involvement and responsiveness to the community over the long term is the next challenge for the program.
Danner
Deborah D
DD
Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, Alzheimer's Disease Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536-0230, USA. dddanner00@uky.edu
Smith
Charles D
CD
Jessa
Peace
P
Hudson
JoAnna
J
D001741:Black or African American / Q000193:education / Q000208:ethnology*; D000368:Aged; D002835:Christianity / Q000523:psychology; D003151:Community Health Centers / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005190:Family / Q000208:ethnology; D017144:Focus Groups; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007629:Kentucky; D008389:Marketing of Health Services; D008403:Mass Screening; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000458:organization & administration; D011287:Prejudice; D016730:Program Development; D035502:Trust