Train the Trainer: A Dementia Care Program and Caregiver Intervention Project

About the Project

Principal Investigator: Dr. Peggye Dilworth-Anderson

Funder: GlaxoSmithKline Global Community Partnership Program of North Carolina

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to conduct a two-phase dementia caregiving training and dementia caregiver intervention project: The first phase of this project will involve a series of interactive half-day sessions of training to share knowledge about and skills to provide dementia caregiving. Trainees will receive Alzheimer's trainer certification through the Alzheimer's Association, Eastern North Carolina Chapter.

The second phase will assist the new trainees in providing an informational intervention for caregivers to elders with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. A caregiver intervention group (those who receive the information) and a delayed caregiver intervention group (those who will receive the information at a later time) will be included. Caregivers will be assessed on knowledge about normal aging processes, dementia and its symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, caregiving skills, family dynamics and dementia care, managing problem behaviors, and developing help-seeking strategies for caregivers. Most importantly, we expect the caregiver intervention groups to differ from the delayed intervention groups regarding the use of information that leads to seeking a diagnosis and treatment of dementia and improving caregiving skills.