Doctoral Dissertation Research: Cultural Dimensions of Dementia and Aging in Indigenous Communities

痴呆症是一种以记忆和其他认知能力下降为特征的神经损伤。作为一个主要的公共卫生问题，官员们已将痴呆症归类为一种新的流行病。记忆力丧失似乎越来越受到土著人民的关注，他们对老年人的尊重和照顾已成为其社区结构的一部分。然而，很少有人在土著背景下观察到痴呆症的经验和概念。因此，该项目询问土著人民如何体验和理解与老龄化和神经损伤相关的变化？原住民对记忆丧失的理解如何受到社会经济限制以及对年龄和记忆的不同文化视角的影响？除了为人类学研究生的科学方法培训提供资金外，这一奖项还将使土著社区、卫生专业人员、学者、政府和非政府机构能够分享研究结果，这些机构致力于改善土著人民的健康差距。该项目还扩大了科学界代表性不足的群体的参与。通过参与者观察、对痴呆症患者家属、医疗专业人员和中间人的半结构化访谈以及文件分析，调查人员将检查土著社区痴呆症是如何在当地形成的。具体地说，他们将研究土著妇女如何在州政府概述的新兴医学痴呆症框架内就当地对痴呆症的理解和照顾老年人进行谈判。该项目力求促进越来越多的公众了解针对土著人民保健做法的做法和政策。更好地了解痴呆症的社会结构可以为解决痴呆症护理、政策和研究的广泛影响提供背景。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Dementia is a neurological impairment characterized by a decline in memory and other cognitive abilities. As a major public health concern, officials have categorized dementia as a new epidemic. Memory loss acutely appears to be of increasing concern for Indigenous people, for whom respect and care for the elderly are built into the fabric of their communities. However, few have observed the experiences and conceptions of dementia within Indigenous contexts. Accordingly, this project asks how Indigenous people come to experience and understand the changes associated with aging and neurological impairment? How is Indigenous understanding of memory loss affected by socioeconomic constraints, and different cultural perspectives of age and memory? In addition to providing funding for the training of a graduate student in anthropology in scientific methods, this award will enable findings to be shared with Indigenous communities, health professionals, academics, governmental, and non-governmental institutions invested in improving health disparities of Indigenous people. The project also broadens the participation of groups underrepresented in science. Through a combination of participant observation, and semi-structured interviews with family members of dementia patients, medical professionals and intermediaries, and document analysis, the investigators will examine how dementia is locally constructed in Indigenous communities. Specifically, they will examine how Indigenous women negotiate local understandings of dementia and care for their elderly within emerging medical dementia frameworks outlined by the state. This project seeks to contribute to a growing body of accessible public knowledge on practices and policies that target healthcare practices among Indigenous people. A better understanding of the social construction of dementia can provide a backdrop for wide-ranging implications to address dementia care, policies, and research.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.