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Journal of Applied Gerontology, Vol. 23, No. 4, 385-410 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0733464804270587
© 2004 Southern Gerontological Society

Help Seeking for Personal Concerns About Developing Alzheimer’s Disease

Lynne Gershenson Hodgson

Quinnipiac University

Stephen J. Cutler

University of Vermont

This study examined the patterns and predictors of help-seeking behavior for personal concerns about developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) among middle-aged persons. Data were obtained from a survey of two subsamples of 40- to 60-year-old adults with concerns about AD: (a) 99 adult children with a living parent with a diagnosis of probable AD and(b)70 adults in a matched group with no parental history of AD. Descriptive analyses of the types and levels of help seeking show that respondents who are concerned about developing AD take their fears mainly to their informal rather than formal networks. Bivariate and multivariate analyses identified significant correlates of help seeking within three clusters: memory assessment, AD experience, and sociodemographics. The most robust predictors were aspects of AD experience. Understanding the patterns and correlates of help seeking for AD concerns can help health care professionals to develop more effective models of early intervention with implications for early detection of the disease.

Key Words: Alzheimer’s disease • help-seeking behavior • health care • early detection • informal versus formal help networks


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