Training Area Agencies on Aging Case Managers to Improve Physical Function, Mood, and Behavior in Persons With Dementia and Caregivers: Examples from the RDAD-Northwest Study

ABSTRACT

The Reducing Disability in Alzheimer’s Disease (RDAD) program has been shown to be an effective tool for teaching caregivers strategies to improve mood, behavior, and physical function in persons with dementia. This paper describes how RDAD has been translated and implemented for use by Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) case managers across Washington and Oregon. Modifications to the original RDAD program as part of its community translation included decreasing the number of in-person sessions while preserving all educational content; involving caregivers in exercise activities for themselves as well as acting as exercise coaches for care-receivers; and enrolling persons with cognitive impairment due to mixed etiologies. This paper describes these changes and their rationale, the challenges faced by community agencies recruiting for and delivering evidence-based programs, and illustrates the actual RDAD implementation process through several brief case examples. Case examples also illustrate how RDAD-Northwest can be useful with care-receivers with a range of cognitive impairment severity, family caregiving situations, and levels of mood and behavioral challenges.

KEYWORDS:

• Exercise
• dementia
• caregiving
• translational research

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by NIH grant #AG041716 (L. Teri, PI). The authors wish to acknowledge Cathy Blackburn, Martha Cagley, and Amy Cunningham for their diligent hard work on this project.

Disclosure Statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging R01 AG041716.