Dr. Rosa Carpio: Creating awareness, moving people to help fight dementia
DR. Rosa Gandanghari-carpio, founder of the Noli Alzheimer’s Center, is at the forefront of a nationwide campaign to raise awareness and concern about Alzheimer’s and move people to take action in the fight against the disease.
Dementia is one of the major problems among the elderly population in all countries around the world. Right now, there are around 50 million elderly people who are experiencing or suffering from dementia, and there are nearly 10 million new cases every year. Dementia is one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people worldwide.
Dementia is manifested by the deterioration in memory, thinking, behavior and the ability to perform everyday activities. Although dementia mainly affects older people, it is not considered a normal part of aging.
“We have a growing population of elderly. Six to 8 percent of those 65 years old have Alzheimers or dementia and the incidence doubles every five years,” Carpio told the Businessmirror in an e-mail interview.
Carpio said dementia has a huge impact not only on the patient but also to the whole family as well because those suffering from it require a 24/7 care, thus affecting manpower and finances.
Taking care of a person with dementia is a herculean challenge. Time management is quite important, as the patient requires continuous care. Nevertheless, Carpio said it is important that the care provider in the family must be given time off to avoid physiological and psychological burnout.
The financial aspect is quite important as well because this will handle the medical aspects, such medicines and others.
“Taking care of an afflicted elderly will require huge financial resources, medicines, doctors, additional personnel to help take care of the patient, and institutional cost when the time comes to put the patient in a facility. It will result in lost earning for a family member involved in the care of the patient,” she said.
Carpio also said support from other members of the family is vital to cope with the challenge. “It is also important to ask for prayers for spiritual strength, and continuous reading of related literature to help understand the patient’s needs.”
To drum up support for this advocacy, Noli Alzheimer’s Center partnered with Alaska Milk Corp. in various information dissemination forays. Mika Tagle, senior brand manager for Alaska Milk Corp., said the project was worth promoting.
“Alaska Milk wants to be the brand that dares to talk about this hard truth. The truth about dementia is a heartwarming theme that revolves around our campaign idea of adding love to your dishes during special occasions,” she said.
To boost the campaign, Noli’s
Alzheimer’s and Elderly Care Center and Alaska Milk launched a long-format digital material dubbed “Paalala.”
“In the three-minute video, we unveiled a touching story of Beth and her grandmother who has dementia. This material was aired across multiple platforms online, aside from our short TVC material,” Carpio said.
Perla Adea, one of the popular teenage idols in the 1970s, played the role of the grandmother. In the late 1960s to the early 1970s, D Sensations, hosted by the late Ike Lozada, was the toast of television. Together with Vilma Santos, Edgar Mortiz, Baby de Jesus, Janine Frias, Tony Santos Jr. and Angge, Adea was among the regulars in the TV show.
Together with Carpio, the two organizations also held events attended by media representatives where they talked about the effects of dementia and how concerned citizens can help spread awareness. “This initiative was supplemented by a series of PR articles and advertorials online and on print,” she said.