Editor’s Note: Here at the Penn Memory Center, the communications team has been trying out a weekly letter we call “Sunday Reads” to keep you updated on what’s been happening and what we’re currently reading in our office. To see this in your inbox first, fill out your name and email address at the top of your screen or email joyce.lee2@uphs.upenn.edu.
Language is an undeniably powerful tool. It can persuade, lift, and inspire.
But words can also sometimes be weaponized, to marginalize and discriminate against certain individuals and groups of people.
We’ve seen this happen with people living with dementia. That is why at PMC, we are very careful with the words we use to refer to our patients and research participants. But these conversations we’ve been having in our office have become more public, and we think it’s appropriate to talk about this now.
For example, a recent column from Ravishly discusses the broad implications of our language for individuals recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.
The writer, who is in recovery herself, explains how commonly used words such as “addict” and “alcoholic” can do more harm than you may realize. And she cites research conducted at the University of Pennsylvania to support her claim.
Similarly, in a past Forbes column, PMC Co-Director Dr. Jason Karlawish, discusses the often unintentional impact our words — particularly the use of “zombie” — can have on persons with Alzheimer’s disease.
“The problem with the zombie metaphor, with thinking about the patient as a living dead, is that it limits our repertoire of emotions,” he writes. “We feel fear and disgust, emotions that in turn cause stigma, which describes a deliberate distancing and dehumanizing of a person.”
Stigma has the ability to affect people on an emotional level, but also their interactions with the health system and participation in clinical research. This is what PMC Scholar Dr. Shana Stites is working on studying.
“One thing we’re hoping to achieve with this research is to develop mass media communications with messages that change the public stigma around Alzheimer’s disease, to make people less likely to make those negative judgments, or judgments that are untrue or unhelpful about people with Alzheimer’s disease,” she says. You can read more about Dr. Stites’ work on stigma here.
Ultimately, we’re mindful of the words we use here at PMC to combat the stigma.
You can join us too.
First, use person-first, empowering language. For example, say “person with Alzheimer’s disease,” instead of mentioning the disease first.
Second, learn about the language guidelines of talking about dementia with this document from Dementia Australia.
Together, let’s empower people who live with dementia and their loved ones.
Upcoming Events
The Ralston Center is holding a free education program called “Medications and Aging,” on Tuesday, October 9, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. It will be led by Dr. Jerry Johnson, the former Chief of Penn Geriatrics. Registration is required.
It’s time for Memory Café, and this week, the Philadelphia Zoo on Wheels will be joining us! The event will take place at the usual location (Christ Church Neighborhood House) on Friday, October 12, from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
Come dance with us on Saturday, October 13, at our weekly Dance for Health event. You can show off your dance moves from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Here’s more information.
Sincerely,
The PMC Communications Team
Terrence Casey, Joyce Lee, Janissa Delzo, Linnea Langkammer, and Sharnita Midgett