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SALT LAKE CITY — The number of Utahns living with dementia is expected to increase by 23.5% between 2020 and 2025, reaching 42,000.
“We have to start paying attention and we have to start doing something about this,” Elizabeth Fauss said at a research event on Thursday.
Utah State University hosted an event Thursday at the Gallivan Center to discuss dementia research to prepare the state for this significant increase.
Faus, a professor of human development and family studies at Utah State University, said Utah has a population that lives longer and is therefore at higher risk for age-related diseases. The state also has many retirees, leading to an increase in the elderly population and the number of people with dementia.
She said Alzheimer’s disease, which statistically accounts for about 60% of dementia patients, will affect everyone, whether they, a relative or a loved one have been diagnosed. This is why research into dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is currently so active.
“It’s still impacting people and will continue to impact people,” Faus said.
Utah government leaders have set goals for 2023 that include raising awareness about dementia, creating a dementia-ready workforce, improving the quality of life for people with dementia, empowering caregivers, and expanding research. A dementia plan is in place.
USU President Elizabeth Cantwell said the university recently celebrated its first anniversary. Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Research Center, We’ve donated $375,000 to support ongoing research, but there’s still much work to be done.
“Even in the research world, it’s impossible to be unaware of the serious social burden of dementia anywhere in the world, but certainly not in the United States,” she says.
Cantwell said USU administrators encourage faculty and staff to work across disciplines, and that is reflected in the approach to dementia.
The school has approximately 15 faculty members who belong to the Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Research Center, and many students are actively engaged in research and presentations. Faus, who directs the research center, said the Utah Legislature has provided $850,000 in continuing funding to help establish the center, which will work with regional partners, engage students and other universities to collaborate on research. He said he would like to expand subsidies to the
Fauth said she became interested in dementia when she found work caring for the elderly at age 15. For many years, she has researched ways to support caregivers of people with dementia.
She said while memory loss is the most common symptom, there are multiple other symptoms that can make it difficult for caregivers, including wandering, depression and aggression. She said most families want care, but it can be difficult to continue if people resist, especially as caregivers may need to provide care for five to 20 years. .
“Families are doing most of the work, and even if they want to be a part of it, it’s intensive and somewhat difficult work,” Faus said.
She also said that most caregivers are alone. Only 53% said they received unpaid help, and many provided care most of the time or most of the time.
Faus is part of a USU study that found that when caregivers meet with a counselor on their own, then meet with all family members four times, and then meet again on their own, family conflict is reduced in the process. It was found that the amount of support felt by family members increased. caregiver.
Based on this research, USU created an online program that also helps improve the caregiver experience. Through his USU Extension online self-guided program, help will be available to even more caregivers, as they can access it remotely whenever they have time. Faus said this is a small study that is currently being expanded, but early research shows the course improved the lives of caregivers for several months after completion.
She also shared research completed by others at the center. USU psychology professor Joan Chants has been studying the differences between those who decline rapidly and those who decline slowly, and plans to expand that research to more diverse populations. Naveen Nagaraj, an associate professor of audiology at USU, studied whether it is possible to reverse or slow down the changes in brain activity that occur when hearing loss is left untreated.
Professor Faus said the university was tackling this issue from multiple fronts so that the Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Research Center could impact carers and people living with dementia in a variety of ways.
She said they are doing this research not for funding or because it’s the next big thing, but because of the many people affected by dementia.
