The number of informal caregivers needed for older African Americans is increasing significantly, and is predicted to continue to rise. In the city of Buffalo, NY, African Americans comprise over 37% of the population and one third live below poverty level. African Americans do the work of caregiving under several unique constraints. These constraints include health disparities affecting care recipients and caregivers, higher levels of poverty, lower levels for utilization of formal supportive health care services, and a persisting legacy of discrimination. Working with African American caregivers in the Buffalo community to identify and address their needs is a pressing concern. Programs developed to assist caregivers belonging to other populations may not be appropriate or accessible to African American caregivers. The tenets of community-based participatory research offer a philosophical foundation and framework useful for working with African American caregivers to find ways to support and assist caregivers. Ultimately such work can lead to improved health outcomes for both caregivers and their care recipients. The purpose of the proposed project is to work in partnership with residents of the Near East Side (Buffalo, New York) to design and pilot test a culturally appropriate, supportive intervention for African American caregivers who are providing care to an adult family member in their homes. Using community based participatory research (CBPR), the primary aims of this study are to: 1. design the detailed content, format, and schedule for an intervention to assist family caregivers 2. Implement the intervention with one community site. 3. Assess feasibility, acceptability, and perceived value of the intervention through collection of qualitative data and pre-post quantitative measures. Future studies will focus on evaluating the effectiveness of the intervention developed in this application through a multi-site controlled clinical trial. The long term objective of these efforts is to provide culturally appropriate supportive interventions for African American caregivers throughout our community. ? ? ? ?

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
5R21NR010199-02
Application #
7394974
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-HOP-U (90))
Program Officer
Boyington, Josephine
Project Start
2007-04-09
Project End
2010-03-31
Budget Start
2008-04-01
Budget End
2010-03-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2008
Total Cost
$228,533
Indirect Cost
Name
State University of New York at Buffalo
Department
Type
Schools of Nursing
DUNS #
038633251
City
Buffalo
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
14260