Older adults with dementia are at high risk for fall-related injuries and loss of independence due to functional mobility impairments. This proposal is a revision to 1RO1 AG041716, From Evidence-Base to Practice: Implementing RDAD in AAA Community Services, a translational investigation of RDAD (Reducing Disability in Alzheimer's disease;L. Teri, PI). The parent RO1 investigates the translation, implementation, and effectiveness of Reducing Disability in Alzheimer's Disease (RDAD), as administered by eight Area Agencies on Aging (AAA), in helping older adults remain healthy and living in their own homes as long as possible. To adhere to the translational properties of the RFA, assessments proposed in the original proposal rely predominantly on self and informant report. This revision will enable us to add an innovative ready-for- translation, user-friendly computerized system to quantify measures of functional mobility in the homes of older adults with dementia. Capitalizing on the parent grant, a staggered time series design will be used to conduct three in-home assessments on 78 dyads (persons with dementia and their family caregivers) enrolled in RDAD. The primary objective of the current proposal is to add these more sensitive measures of functional mobility to investigate the effectiveness of RDAD and to identify potential mechanisms and predictors that explain loss of independence by examining the relationship between innovative in-home measures of functional mobility and parent study outcomes. The addition of these in-home measures will address two unique aims that benefit the parent study: 1) To evaluate the effectiveness of RDAD, and 2) to identify potential mechanisms and predictors that explain loss of independence. This research has several implications for future studies aimed at helping older adults to maintain their health and independence in the community. First, it will introduce innovative technology to quantify functional mobility within th homes of individuals with dementia. Second, in addition to investigating the effectiveness of RDAD, we will be able to study potential mechanisms as well as predictors of parent study outcomes. Finally, based on our findings, it will lead to further translation of RDAD through the development of informed strategies to assist older adults with dementia to maintain health and independence.
This research will introduce innovative technology to quantify in-home measures of functional mobility in older adults with dementia. The primary objective of the current proposal is to add objective measures of functional mobility to investigate the effectiveness of an evidence-based intervention, Reducing Disability in Alzheimer's disease (RDAD), and to identify potential predictors and mechanisms that might explain loss of independence. This research has several implications for future studies aimed at helping older adults to maintain their health and independence in the community.
| McCurry, Susan M; Logsdon, Rebecca G; Pike, Kenneth C et al. (2018) Training Area Agencies on Aging Case Managers to Improve Physical Function, Mood, and Behavior in Persons With Dementia and Caregivers: Examples from the RDAD-Northwest Study. J Gerontol Soc Work 61:45-60 |
