Abstract Details

Title Exploring Gentrification’s Impact on the Cognitive Health of Older Black Adults

Topic Aging, Dementia, and Behavioral Neurology

Presentation(s) P16 - Poster Session 16 (8:00 AM-9:00 AM)

Poster/Presentation
Number 3-003

Objective To explore the impact of gentrification on the aging experience of older Black adults to better understand potential links to risk factors for cognitive decline.

Background Black adults living in gentrifying areas lose deep neighborhood ties and experience cultural incongruence with new, often younger, higher SES and often White residents. Displacement weakens older Black adults’ social network and sense of belonging within their neighborhoods. Disruption of long-standing social ties can cause changes in mental health, potentially disruptive to cognitive health.

Design/Methods The Sharing History through Active Reminiscence and Photo-Imagery (SHARP) study engaged healthy and mildly cognitively impaired Black adults (n=19, ≥ 55 years) with >10 years past or current residence in Portland, Oregon’s historically Black neighborhoods. Participants walked 3x/week for 6 months in these gentrifying areas and participated in focus groups. Discussions were thematically coded. Themes including “gentrification,” “cultural incongruence,” and “race and culture related experiences” are presented.

Results As witnesses to the rapid changes and the only ones with memories of the past, participants felt that older adults bear among the biggest burden of gentrification. Neighborhood walks evoked feelings of sadness and anger at community loss. Participants spoke about losing neighborhood connections and the erasure of valued places. Overall, gentrification has ushered a sense of unbelonging, increased social disconnect, and psychological distress.

Conclusions Gentrification has induced cultural displacement, evident from participants’ reflections of culturally incongruent encounters with the new demographic and businesses. Gentrification may also increase depression risk and decrease motivation to engage in neighborhood-based social and physical activities, all risk factors for cognitive decline among a population already experiencing doubled risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease and disproportionately affected by gentrification. Characterizing the relationship between cultural displacement, depression, and cognitive decline will provide better understanding of the cognitive health disparities among older Black adults.

Authors/Disclosures
Ann Wachana PRESENTER	Miss Wachana has nothing to disclose.
	No disclosure on file
H. E. Hinson, MD, MCR, FAAN (UCSF/Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital)	Dr. Hinson has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving as an Editor, Associate Editor, or Editorial Advisory Board Member for Neurology. Dr. Hinson has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving as an Editor, Associate Editor, or Editorial Advisory Board Member for American Heart Association.
Raina Croff, PhD (Oregon Heatlh & Science University)	The institution of Dr. Croff has received research support from Roybal Center for Translational Research. The institution of Dr. Croff has received research support from National Institute on Aging. The institution of Dr. Croff has received research support from National Center for Advancing Translational Science.

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