Emory University announced on Tuesday that the members of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, in partnership with members of the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, have received funding for a new study. Provided by the National Institute of Aging, the researchers have received a $1.4 million grant to study the informal caregiving networks of older adults with dementia.
The study is intended to further the development of CareNet, an interactive digital tool designed to be used by clinicians and researchers to study caregiving networks. A particular goal for the digital tool is to identify how others, besides the primary caregiver, participate in providing care for older adults with dementia.
“We aim to shift the focus of caregiving research from the dominant primary caregiver-older adult relationship to more realistic caregiving situations in which collaboration must occur among many individuals,” lead researcher and Emory School of Nursing professor Mi-Kyung Song, PhD, RN, FAAN, said in a press release. “Previous research points to a substantial sharing of activities among multiple caregivers. However, in both clinical and research settings, we typically do not assess who is involved in caregiving other than the primary caregiver, and what role these individuals play.”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more then 55 million people worldwide currently have dementia. Every year, there are nearly 10 million new cases. Dementia is the seventh leading cause of death.
“Our hope and expectation is that this tool will help provide a more comprehensive perspective of informal caregiving to help health care professionals as they guide patients and caregivers,” fellow research lead and University of Pittsburgh professor Annette DeVito Dabbs, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, FAAN, said in a news release. “The ultimate goal is to support and provide the best care possible for older adults with dementia and their caregivers.”
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