The Education and Information Transfer Core (EITC) of the BU ADCC builds on the expertise of the Bedford Division of the Boston Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center and the Dementia Study Program, both located at the Bedford VA Hospital. This Core will improve the management of the secondary symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and provide the educational structure for the BU ADCC. Emphasis has been given to caregivers because, as direct care providers, they are best able to make an impact on patients' responses to the clinical consequences of AD, and their important needs as caregivers will be addressed by this ADCC. The EITC will: 1) prepare professional caregivers to conduct, disseminate and utilize research to manage secondary symptoms of AD; 2) increase the knowledge of family and non professional caregivers; 3) carry out educational programs that will achieve the overall goals of the BU ADCC; and 4) increase the number of autopsies and brain donations made to the BU ADCC Neuropathology Core by inner city residents of Boston who are well characterized subjects in the Clinical Core and non-demented elderly followed by the Home Medical Service.
These aims will be achieved by: 1) using the Internet and traditional educational methods of symposia, conferences, individual consultation, the Internet and pamphlets for information regarding autopsy and donation of brain tissue; 2) providing communication by electronic and voice mail, conference brochures, and the Internet; and 3) collaborating with providers of professional and public education, especially the MGH ADRC EITC and the Eastern Massachusetts Alzheimer's Association. An Educational Advisory Committee will review goal achievement, establish priorities, present new ideas, and provide the evaluation mechanism for the Core. Evaluation criteria include faculty and participant surveys, use of the Internet, analysis of the research utilization program, and objective indicators of numbers of new investigators, pilot studies, and autopsies and brain donations.
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