dementia

This week, CMS announced its Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model, which aims to improve the quality of life for people living with dementia, reduce strain on unpaid caregivers, and help people remain in their homes and communities through care coordination and management, caregiver support, and respite services. Through the GUIDE Model, CMS will test an alternative payment for participants who deliver key supportive services to people with dementia, including comprehensive, person-centered assessments and care plans, care coordination, and 24/7 access to a support line. The intended beneficiary population is community-dwelling Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries, including beneficiaries dually eligible for Medicare...

The Maximizing Independence (MIND) at Home program at Johns Hopkins University provides home and community-based care coordination for individuals and families living with dementia. Through focus groups with Black caregivers, researchers at Johns Hopkins aimed to better understand the unique needs of Black patients and families living with dementia, identify opportunities to improve care delivery, and understand caregivers’ perception of the MIND at Home program. This blog post from The Playbook explains the MIND at Home program and how dementia care coordination programs can better support Black patients and their families.

The Aging and Disability Business Institute is now accepting nominations for the The John A. Hartford Foundation 2022 Business Innovation Award. Each year, this award recognizes community-based organizations (CBOs) that have created innovative solutions to improving the well-being of older adults and people with disabilities through strategic partnerships with health care entities. The Institute is looking for nominations of CBOs that have contracts with health care entities related to advance care planning, caregiving, COVID-19 response, dementia care, and those that address health equity.

The University of Kansas School of Nursing is seeking nursing homes to participate in an NIH-funded research study testing a new online version of the evidence-based Changing Talk (CHAT) communication training program. CHAT educates staff about reducing elderspeak (infantilizing communication) and results in reduced behavioral symptoms and need for psychotropic medication for residents with dementia. The new online version (Changing Talk: Online Training (CHATO)) consists of 3, one-hour interactive online modules that provide flexible and accessible access for staff.

The National Task Group for Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices and the LuMind IDSC Foundation have published a new report exploring the barriers to determining mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia in adults with neuroatypical conditions, such as brain injury, autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, intellectual disabilities, mental illness, and significant sensory impairments. The report is base on a project that was designed to help with furthering diagnostic equity for adults with these conditions and educate clinicians about the differences between these conditions in the dementia detection and assessment process.

Access to culturally appropriate respite care can support caregivers and allow people with dementia to continue aging in place. The International Association for Indigenous Aging has announced a new Indigenous respite care toolkit that aims to help build capacity for community-based respite care. The toolkit is a collaborative effort of Morning Star Lodge, an Indigenous community-based health research lab, File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council and a community research advisory committee comprised of people from 11 First Nations communities.

Researchers at Emory University Goizueta Alzheimer's Disease Research Center are seeking participants for a study on LGBTQ caregivers. The project is intended to help develop a caregiver training program that addresses the obstacles these caregivers face in caring for people with Dementia. The center is seeking individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, are 18 or older, and consider themselves a primary caregiver to complete a 60 minute questionnaire.

NIA has launched a new website designed to educate and support people whose lives are touched by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Alzheimers.gov is the federal government's portal to information and resources on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, including Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal disorders, and vascular dementia. It's goal is to connect people with Alzheimer’s, caregivers and advocates to federal resources that educate and support their needs.

As people age, the risk of neurodegenerative disease increases. This new report from the Milken Institute looks at how we can combat both the risk and cost of dementia. It is structured around five key goals. The report provides actionable recommendations around these goals along with updated data and analysis.

This data profile uses data from the Caregiver Outcome Evaluation Study of the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP). It highlights the differences in demographics and the dynamics between short and long term caregivers.