Founder of Alter Dementia educating communities and faith leaders about disease
Read Time:2 Minute, 38 Second
Dementia disproportionally affects Black Americans at an alarmingly high rate than other races. One Black-owned organization aims to educate more about the disease to the community including faith leaders.
Dr. Fayron Epps is a registered nurse, professor and founder of national non-profit organization Alter Dementia. Epps has closely studied the impact of Alzheimer’s and dementia for more than 20 years.
Earlier in her career, Epps shared she initially did not realize dementia negatively affected African Americans more. During her research over the years, she found that it is one of a few common misconceptions.
”Dementia does not discriminate, not just with race but age and gender,” Epps told X1 Media. “It’s also not part of normal aging…I’ve met individuals that showed signs and symptoms in their mid thirties. This can impact any of us at any time in our life.”
Dementia specifically refers to cognitive and behavioral abilities that interrupt everyday life – like someone losing their car keys and unable to retract steps to go about their daily activities. As dementia progresses, symptoms can significantly damage areas of the brain, which can cause systems to shut down and lead to death.
According to Epps, Black Americans largely suffer from Vascular dementia which stems from cardiovascular issues like strokes and diabetes.
”These conditions tend to be more prevalent in the [Black] community and puts us at risk when we dont take care of it.” Epps said.
The Alzheimer’s Association published a report which identified the disease as a silent epidemic among African Americans. Researchers highlighted that African Americans tend to be diagnosed at a later stage for Alzheimer’s, which limits the effectiveness of treatment that is meant for early stages.
Age-specific prevalence of dementia is found to be 14% to 100% higher in African Americans and the cumulative risk among first degree relatives is 43.7%.
”It upsets me that for the past 10 years this has been the call to action and we still cannot get anywhere,” Epps said. “These numbers are not changing and we all have to be educated.”
Understanding the ongoing impact, Epps founded Alter Dementia in 2019. She works directly with faith leaders and provides useful information about dementia to help spread awareness in their communities.
”Faith communities are the cornerstone of our community,” Epps said. “Many pastors didn’t know about [dementia], so how can they truly spiritually support their parishioners if they don’t fully understand some of the things that they’re going through.”
Alter Dementia is holding its first ever summit in April in Decatur, Georgia. The two-day event will unite ministries, caregivers, people living with dementia and community partners to help address the issue.
Epps’ mission is to not just inform faith leaders but also ensure they are more comfortable, confident and empowered to serve.
”To me, it takes a village,” Epps said. “We have to come together as a community so we can see a dent in these numbers and hopefully one day we are not disproportionately impacted.”
To learn more about the summit and to register, visit Alter Dementia’s website.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
100 %
0
0
Subscribe
Login
0 Comments
