The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is providing nearly $4.7 million for eight “caregiver assistance pilot programs” across the country to expand and improve health care education and provide needed training and resources for caregivers who assist disabled and aging veterans in their homes.

One of these programs is a translation of the Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregivers Health (REACH II) multi-site randomized clinical trial for family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease or related disorders, which was funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR).  The intervention is designed to provide education, support and skills building to help caregivers manage patient behaviors and their own stress.  It includes 12 individual sessions in the home and by telephone and five telephone support groups over six months.

VA Medical Center at Memphis is serving as the Coordinating Center for this program, providing evaluation and training to the clinical sites, with the assistance of the REACH II investigators.  VAMC Memphis/University of Tennessee was one of the participating sites for the REACH I and II interventions.  Across the country, 20 Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) programs, which treat frail dementia patients and their caregivers in the home, are providing the intervention to 200 caregivers. 

Specific objectives for the REACH VA translation include:

1)Assess the feasibility of translating a multi-component, community-based intervention for family caregivers of patients with dementia in VHA settings;

2)For patients with dementia, evaluate the intervention's efficacy in decreasing health care utilization, including unanticipated admissions, unscheduled outpatient visits, ER visits, and placement; 

3)For family caregivers of patients with dementia, evaluate the intervention's efficacy in improving clinical outcomes relating to quality of life as measured by emotional well-being and depression, burden, health, social support, and management of patient dementia-related behaviors, and time spent "on duty" and time providing actual care;

4)Assess caregiver satisfaction with the services provided;

5)Determine the cost of the intervention for VHA clinical staff.

To keep up with the current progress of this exciting project, click on “Project Updates” at the top of this page.