Design and Development of a Community-Based, Interdisciplinary, Collaborative Dementia Care Program.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the design, development, and baseline characteristics of enrollees of a home-based, interdisciplinary, dyadic, pilot dementia care program.

DESIGN

Single-arm, dementia care intervention in partnership with primary care providers delivered by Health Coaches to persons with dementia and caregiver "dyads" and supervised by an interdisciplinary team.

SETTING

Home- and virtual-based dyad support.

PARTICIPANTS

Persons with mild cognitive impairment or dementia diagnosis and/or who were prescribed antidementia medications; had an identified caregiver willing to participate; were under the care of a partner primary care provider; and had health insurance through the affiliated accountable care organization (Banner Health Network).

INTERVENTION

Provision of personalized dementia education and support in the home or virtually by Health Coaches supported by an interdisciplinary team.

MEASUREMENTS

Cognition, function, mood, and behavior of persons with dementia; caregiver stress and program satisfaction; primary care provider satisfaction.

RESULTS

Served dyads from three primary care clinics with a total of 87 dyads enrolled between December 2018 and June 2020.

CONCLUSION

A pilot Dementia Care Partners demonstrated feasibility and suggested acceptability, and high satisfaction among primary care providers and caregivers.