Acknowledging Disparities in Dementia Care for Increasingly Diverse Ethnoracial Patient Populations

Conclusions

The growth and increasing diversity of the US older adult population in the coming decades require us as HCPs, researchers, and educators to dedicate more resources to ethnoracially diverse populations. There are still a great many unknowns about Alzheimer disease and dementia, most especially among nonwhites. Research, clinical care, and education must focus on outreach to marginalized groups so we may better be able to diagnose and treat the fastest growing older adult populations in the US. A complex combination of educational, cultural, social, and environmental factors likely contribute to delayed diagnosis and care of these groups, as well as lack of access to medical care, research venues, and trust issues between minority groups and the medical establishment. We all have an obligation to acknowledge these disparities and elicit the support of our colleagues and workplaces to raise awareness and dedicate necessary resources to this growing concern.