Women and Alzheimer’s Disease – Putting the Caregiver Center Stage

While Alzheimer’s disease is devastating and deserves every effort to find a cure, too often we focus on the disease itself to the exclusion of the caregiver concerns. Caregivers need to take center stage. And that is happening more and more thanks to the tireless efforts of people like Leeza Gibbons. Leeza’s mom died from Alzheimer’s disease as did her grandmother. Leeza’s difficult journey of being a long distance caregiver has fueled a lifelong passion to support the well-being of those who find themselves walking that same path.

A recent industry news article from the Alzheimer’s Association about the impact of dementia on women really struck me. Consider the following statistics from the Alzheimer’s Association:

• Nearly half of female Alzheimer’s caregivers rate the emotional stress of Alzheimer’s disease at the highest possible level.
  
• Approximately a third of women caregivers are caring for someone 24/7, and almost half of women caregivers are providing more than 40 hours a week of care for an individual with Alzheimer’s.
  
• Four out of 10 caregivers say they had no choice in becoming caregivers. Six out of 10 women say they become caregivers because they lack other family to do it, and approximately 40 percent of women say they became caregivers because they are the only women in their families.
  
• One-third of female Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers are part of the "sandwich generation" with children or grandchildren under the age of 18 living in their homes.
  
• Roughly a quarter of female caregivers made a promise to keep their loved ones out of an institution, but a third of women think that promise is too difficult to keep. *

As a women and a wellness professional in an industry that cares for people who are living with dementia-and their families-I am concerned about these staggering facts. The impact of caregiver stress has major implications. It is putting the caregivers at risk for developing health conditions-Alzheimer’s among them. The potential consequence is a vicious cycle where generations to come are impacted by the disease of Alzheimer’s.

Leeza Gibbons will be the keynote speaker at A Caregiver’s Event sponsored by Brookdale Senior Living in Kansas City on May 3. This half day conference is designed to support and educate caregivers in putting themselves first. Leeza’s book Take Your Oxygen First-as the title implies-encourages caregivers to care first for themselves so they can be there for their loved ones.

For more information on the Kansas City Caregiver event- Contact Linda Daab at (913) 231-1678 or ldaab@brookdaleliving.com.

For more information on Leeza Gibbons including ordering her book go to: http://www.leezasplace.org/

* Reprinted by permission of the Alzheimer’s Association. © 2011 Alzheimer’s Association. All rights reserved.