University of Wisconsin–Madison

Tag: policy

Paying the Price: The Cost of Dementia in 2025

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How much does it cost to live with dementia in the United States? The hidden costs are often overlooked, but these numbers and trends are important to understand in order to inform the public and effectively allocate resources. Dr. Julie Zissimopoulos leads the United States Cost of Dementia Project, where they recently published a report on the total cost of dementia in 2025. Dr. Zissimopoulos joins the podcast to discuss the report’s findings and analyze what this means for patients and families, as well as for public policy, in the future.

Guest: Julie Zissimopoulos, PhD, professor, Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California (USC), co-lead, United States Cost of Dementia Project, co-director, Aging and Cognition Research Program, USC Schaeffer Center, director, Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease Related Dementias Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (USC AD/ADRDRCMAR), Center for Advancing Sociodemographic and Economic Study of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (CeAES-ADRD)

Aging in Place: Addressing the Challenges of Living Alone with Dementia

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It’s estimated that 4.3 million older adults across the United States live alone with cognitive impairment. How do these individuals navigate the challenges and concerns that arise due to these memory and thinking changes, and what recommendations are there to support them as they continue living independently? Dr. Elena Portacolone joins Dementia Matters to discuss her research focused on identifying these challenges and developing equitable policies and programs for older adults living alone with cognitive impairment in the United States and worldwide.

Guest: Elena Portacolone, PhD, MBA, MPH, principal investigator, Living Alone with Cognitive Impairment Project, professor of sociology, Institute for Health & Aging, Pepper Center Scholar, Division of Geriatric Medicine, University of California San Francisco (UCSF)

AARP Study Shows Stigma Surrounding Dementia among Healthcare Professionals and General Public

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With the numerous efforts currently focused on educating the public about dementia, from clinical programs to research to podcasts (like this one), how much is stigma surrounding cognitive decline affecting public understanding?

On today’s podcast, Sarah Lock, Senior Vice President for Policy for AARP, discusses just that. This year, the AARP published a report on a survey focused on how the general American population and particular subgroups perceive dementia and dementia diagnoses. The survey found that the general public and health care professionals have many misperceptions about dementia, including overestimations about their likelihood to develop dementia and the shame they might feel about a diagnosis. Describing the contrasting perceptions between clinicians and the public and the impacts of stigma on dementia policy, Lock details the ways this survey will allow the AARP to build on their existing programs about brain health to better educate the public about dementia and the ways it affects a person’s life.

Guest: Sarah Lenz Lock, Senior Vice President for Policy, AARP, Executive Director of the Global Council on Brain Health

How Culture, Society and Politics Shaped Alzheimer’s Disease Research

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Dr. Jason Karlawish returns to the podcast to continue our discussion on his new book, The Problem of Alzheimer’s: How Science, Culture, and Politics Turned a Rare Disease Into a Crisis and What We Can Do About It. In this episode, Dr. Karlawish discusses pivotal cultural and political moments that influenced Alzheimer’s disease research, as well as the possibilities of drug treatments in the future.

Guest: Jason Karlawish, MD, co-director, Penn Memory Center