Cloos Patrick, Collins Stéphanie, Joubert Wista, Rosenberg Ellen, Gautier Lara
Sante Publique. 2019 July-August;Vol. 31(4):485-495. doi: 10.3917/spub.194.0485.
‘Dementia’ is usually presented as a syndrome characterized by the decline of one or more cognitive abilities such as memory loss. However, memory loss does not necessarily mean dementia. The most common type of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. Its incidence increases with age. In medical anthropology, diseases represent socio-cultural constructs that are not recognized and interpreted in the same way by everyone. Moreover, the migratory context is a source of difficulties in the field of dementia. In this article, we discuss the links between old age, dementia and seeking help in this context.
This is an exploratory qualitative study. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with women and men born in Haiti who then immigrated to Quebec. These interviews allowed us to discuss seniors’ status issues, the meaning of memory loss and seeking help.
Interview data reveal a plurality of representations about memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease. They highlight a diversity of beliefs, attitudes and values that reflect cultural and social changes within the same community. Taking into account the context makes it possible to consider the transformation or continuity of representations and behaviors vis-à-vis loss of memory.
Dementia does not seem to be a phenomenon that is easily approached in the Haitian community in Quebec. Our study reveals a lack of information in this regard.
“痴呆症”通常表现为一种以记忆力丧失等一种或多种认知能力衰退为特征的综合征。然而，记忆力丧失并不一定意味着患有痴呆症。最常见的痴呆症类型是阿尔茨海默病。其发病率随年龄增长而增加。在医学人类学中，疾病是社会文化建构，并非每个人都以相同方式认识和解读它们。此外，移民背景在痴呆症领域是一个难题来源。在本文中，我们探讨在这种背景下老年、痴呆症与寻求帮助之间的联系。
这是一项探索性定性研究。对出生于海地后移民到魁北克的男性和女性进行了10次半结构化访谈。这些访谈使我们能够讨论老年人的状况问题、记忆力丧失的意义以及寻求帮助的情况。
访谈数据揭示了关于记忆力丧失和阿尔茨海默病的多种表述。它们突出了反映同一社区内文化和社会变化的各种信仰、态度和价值观。考虑到背景情况，就有可能思考针对记忆力丧失的表述和行为的转变或连续性。
在魁北克的海地社区，痴呆症似乎不是一个容易应对的现象。我们的研究揭示了这方面信息的匮乏。
