Many people living with dementia don't feel valued or respected in their communities. But some activists in Michigan are working to change that by creating dementia-friendly communities. That can involve educating the general public on how to communicate better with people living with dementia. It can include creating more and better opportunities for people living with dementia to meaningfully engage with their communities. Or it can mean creating better social opportunities for people living with dementia. As we conclude our second season of Michigan's State of Health, we took a look at the ..read more

One of the most frustrating and scary things about dementia is that we still know breathtakingly little about it. Research has revealed many clues – but not enough definitive answers – about what causes dementia and exactly how it acts upon the brain. And, of course, there's still no cure for any form of dementia.  However, the medical community in Michigan, as in the rest of the U.S., is currently working at unprecedented speed to better understand how dementia works and treat it. Massive federal investment in dementia research is helping researchers investigate the pathology behind dem ..read more

Becoming a caregiver or care partner to a person living with dementia is a challenging process. The role is thrust upon some and chosen by others. But in either case, there's a steep learning curve to understanding how best to support a person living with dementia. And caring for a loved one with dementia is often draining on time, finances, and emotional wellbeing. However, numerous Michiganders have developed strategies to be better care partners to the people living with dementia in their lives. They've created organizations and networks to share that information with other care partners a ..read more

Dementia is challenging for everyone, but it takes a particularly heavy toll in communities of color. According to the Alzheimer's Association, older Black Americans are about twice as likely – and older Hispanic Americans about one and a half times as likely – to have dementia as their white counterparts. Numerous leaders in Michigan are working to better understand the differences in how people of color experience dementia – and to address the inequities that contribute to that experience. As we continue our second season of Michigan's State of Health, we'll introduce you to people living w ..read more

Starting to recognize the symptoms of dementia in yourself can be scary enough in the first place. But for many people living with dementia, that process is compounded by doctors who seem unwilling or unable to make a diagnosis or offer adequate support when they do. The diagnosis process often takes years, and people living with dementia often feel abandoned to "get their affairs in order" once they finally do get diagnosed. However, both people living with dementia and health care leaders in Michigan are working to speed up the diagnosis process and offer more support to newly diagnosed peo ..read more

While Michigan's rural communities may not have faced the same heavy COVID-19 caseload as more densely populated urban areas, they've still struggled with unique challenges. Limited access to hospitals, limited transportation options, and lack of broadband internet have all affected rural Michiganders' ability to get the care they need. And all these challenges have been particularly acute for an often-overlooked segment of Michigan's rural population: migrant workers. While they're often invisible or looked down upon in the communities where they live and work, these migrant workers embody ru ..read more

The isolation, uncertainty, and fear of the COVID-19 pandemic have taken a major toll on behavioral health. A survey conducted last June by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 40% of Americans surveyed reported struggling with mental health or substance use. The prevalence of anxiety symptoms was three times higher than in the same period in 2019, and the prevalence of depression symptoms was four times higher. However, the increased prevalence of behavioral health issues has had an unexpected upside: more people are talking about behavioral health than ever before. That ..read more

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic effect on food insecurity and food systems. According to an estimate by Northwestern University, the pandemic more than doubled food insecurity in America, affecting nearly a quarter of all U.S. households last year. Here in Michigan, one and a quarter million people have received expanded emergency food assistance benefits during the pandemic. The pandemic opened many Michiganders' eyes to food supply chain issues they'd never considered before. And while the darkest days of COVID-prompted food insecurity may be behind us, major gaps in Michigan's food ..read more

The COVID-19 pandemic has been especially frightening for older adults. The risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 increases with age for people over 50 years old, and people aged 85 and older are the most likely to to get very sick. COVID-19 has also exacerbated social isolation, which was already elevated among older adults long before the pandemic arrived. However, the pandemic has also shone a spotlight on the challenges older adults and their caregivers face, and as a result it's prompted the creation of many new programs to improve care for older adults. On this week's episode, we ..read more

Black residents have represented 21% of Michigan's COVID-19 deaths, despite making up 14% of the state's overall population. And sadly, disparate health outcomes are nothing new for Michiganders of color. However, COVID has helped to raise awareness of bigger-picture health inequities and the importance of addressing them – not only at the level of large institutions, including governments and health care providers, but also at an individual level. On this week's episode, we sat down with Jametta Lilly, CEO of the Detroit Parent Network and member of the Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Raci ..read more