Age Strong Blog: Age Strong attends the ACCESS-PD Conference

By Sophia Wang, Age Strong Staff

Age Strong staff attended the ACCESS-PD Conference, hosted by Asian Women for Health (AWFH), a non-profit organization committed to progressing the health and well-being of Asian women and people from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds, through community engagement, education, and representation. The ACCESS-PD conference focused on ways to better serve Asian Americans with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and their care partners. The event featured research findings, barriers of access to PD care for Asian Americans, a panel discussion with health providers and advocates, and sharing resources.

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's Disease, impacting nearly one million people in the U.S. Despite this, Asian Americans have been largely absent from research studies on PD, with very little attention being given to the barriers to PD care for Asian Americans. Conference presenters Preston Dang MPH, Qing Lu, and Alice Tang PhD spoke about how language and cultural barriers impact Asian Americans in seeking and continuing PD care, and how care partners may find it difficult to navigate the healthcare system to get the resources needed for PD patients. It is therefore critical that additional research is done to learn more about the experiences of Asian American with PD and their caregivers, so that more can be done to address any gaps in PD care for Asian Americans.

Asian Women for Health, in partnership with Tufts University School of Medicine and Michael J. Fox Foundation, is now conducting an ACCESS-PD survey focusing on the experiences of Asian American caregivers for someone who has PD. This survey will help inform researchers on how to improve support and treatment for Asian Americans with PD. To participate or to learn more visit the Asian Women For Health website.