CONTRIBUTED BY ALABAMA PRESS ASSOCIATION
ALABAMA —
There are more than 211,000 family caregivers in Alabama caring for someone who has Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia. This number is expected to grow as more older adults in the state are diagnosed with dementia.
Caring for someone with dementia is challenging, and Alabama caregivers often report having their own health problems to manage: almost 60% report having at least one chronic condition, 28% report having depression and 13% report having poor physical health. One of the biggest challenges that caregivers face is accessing the information they need to understand their loved one’s condition, find emotional support and locate services that meet their needs.
“It’s really alarming to see what caregivers are going through,” said Dr. Nicole Ruggiano. “Many report feeling stressed because they don’t understand why their mother or father doesn’t recognize them anymore. Some feel depressed and isolated because they do not have someone to stay with their loved one so they can attend church service or see a doctor for their own health problems.”
Ruggiano is a professor and associate dean of research within the School of Social Work at the University of Alabama. Ruggiano and her team wanted to find ways to connect caregivers across the state with information they report needing to better understand dementia and to make decisions about their loved one’s care. They launched a new website, called Alabama Caregiver Connect (caregiverconnect.ua.edu), which provides caregiver education and information about services within Alabama communities.
“One of the main goals of Alabama Caregiver Connect is to provide Alabama with content that they find important,” Ruggiano said. “So, caregivers can submit questions on the website that they would like more information about. As more families use the site, we hope to expand it to better link caregivers with services within their community.”