Study of home and community services in Alzheimer’s Disease

As Alzheimer's disease progresses, the care required by people with the disease becomes more demanding and families find it increasingly difficult to provide this care without support from the formal health care system. However, despite their need for support, only 10% to 15% of family caregivers use respite services, adult day services, and other home and community services designed to relieve them of some of the physical and emotional demands of care.  In this investigation, Judith McCann, PhD, RN, and colleagues will recruit 240 white, black, and Hispanic caregivers of community-dwelling persons with Alzheimer's disease.  Through questionnaires and interviews with these caregivers, the researchers hope to better understand current barriers to home and community service use and to develop strategies for overcoming them.  The overall goal of this project is to identify reasons why caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease do not use more of the formal services available to them so that we can close the gap between need and use of services.

This study involves:

• A one-time telephone interview scheduled at your convenience (day, evening, or weekend)
• 20 to 30 minutes of your time
• Answering questions about your awareness of different kinds of home and community services, your experience using services, and your satisfaction with services you have used

You may be eligible to participate in this study if you are caring for someone who:

• Is 65 years of age or older
• Have changes in memory and thinking related to Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia
• Live in the community, not in an assisted living facility or a nursing home
• Also, you must speak either English or Spanish

This is a partial list of eligibility requirements. To inquire about your eligibility, please call the contact number provided. If you wish to inquire via e-mail, please include the title of the study in your message.