Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) refers to the most common forms of dementia. The Alzheimer's Association estimates that 7.2 million Americans are living with ADRD, contributing to mounting challenges on health care systems, communities, and caregivers. According to the Center for Disease Control, Texas experienced over ten-thousand deaths related to ADRD in 2022.
Close to half of the caregiving provided to older adults with ADRD is unpaid caregiving by family and friends. The Alzheimer's Association values unpaid caregiving provided to patients with ADRD at $413.5 billion nation-wide in 2025. In 2024, unpaid caregivers in Texas provided an estimated 1,878 million hours of unpaid care valued at over $33 billion, second only to California. The lifetime cost of caregiving, medical care, and daily expenses for an individual with ADRD is estimated to be over $400,000 as of 2024.
THE URGENT NEED
400,000
Texans are living with Alzheimer's disease
1 MILLION
caregivers bear the burden of the disease
#3
Texas' national rank in Alzheimer's cases
2/3
of Alzheimer's patients are women
The Texas A&M School of Public Health was contracted by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to perform a statewide needs assessment of services and supports for caregivers of people living with ADRD. This statewide needs assessment was conducted to better understand the availability, accessibility, and use of services for ADRD caregivers in Texas. It also sought to identify the unmet needs and barriers to service access and utilization from the perspective of unpaid caregivers and the organizations that serve and support them.Two interrelated statewide surveys and a series of four virtually-hosted Community Discussion Groups (CDG) were conducted. Both surveys were designed to complement and build upon one another to receive comparable information from the vantage point of: (1) unpaid ADRD caregivers; and (2) organizations serving unpaid ADRD caregivers.