R01AG075890

The Porchlight Project - Project Summary/Abstract

The proposed R01 project will feature a robust collaboration between Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS-MN) and the University of Minnesota to evaluate the "Porchlight Project," a novel adaptation of its volunteer programs that serve older persons with Alzheimer's disease or Alzheimer's disease-related dementia (AD/ADRD).

The Porchlight Project is a multicomponent training delivered to volunteers and includes three established online training modules on person-centered dementia care. It also includes a four-session online training program that demonstrates to volunteers how to apply person-centered dementia care knowledge to their interactions with persons with dementia and their caregivers. Additionally, ongoing monthly coaching sessions are provided.

We will evaluate the real-world efficacy of the Porchlight Project throughout Minnesota and randomly assign a minimum of 171 persons with AD/ADRD, family caregivers, and volunteers across 19 regional program coordinator regions to one of two groups. One group will receive the Porchlight Project over a 12-month period, while the other group will receive standard volunteer support as a usual care control condition.

An embedded experimental mixed methods design will be utilized, incorporating various qualitative data collection elements within the 12-month randomized controlled evaluation of the Porchlight Project (Stage III of the NIH Stage Model). Twelve-month outcomes that we hypothesize the Porchlight Project will influence include: 1) increased volunteer competence, 2) increases in quality of life and reduced loneliness for the person with AD/ADRD, and 3) increased self-efficacy, decreased stress, and improved well-being for caregivers.

The Porchlight Project offers a potentially efficient, wide-ranging service model for states and communities to implement, facilitating the "dementia capability" of their various volunteer programs. Moreover, creating effective linkages to community-based long-term services and supports addresses several goals of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease, as well as the recent Dementia Care Services and Support Summits.

Regents Of The University Of Minnesota

TO ENCOURAGE BIOMEDICAL, SOCIAL, AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING DIRECTED TOWARD GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE AGING PROCESS AND THE DISEASES, SPECIAL PROBLEMS, AND NEEDS OF PEOPLE AS THEY AGE. THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING HAS ESTABLISHED PROGRAMS TO PURSUE THESE GOALS. THE DIVISION OF AGING BIOLOGY EMPHASIZES UNDERSTANDING THE BASIC BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES OF AGING. THE DIVISION OF GERIATRICS AND CLINICAL GERONTOLOGY SUPPORTS RESEARCH TO IMPROVE THE ABILITIES OF HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONERS TO RESPOND TO THE DISEASES AND OTHER CLINICAL PROBLEMS OF OLDER PEOPLE. THE DIVISION OF BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL RESEARCH SUPPORTS RESEARCH THAT WILL LEAD TO GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOCIAL, CULTURAL, ECONOMIC AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT BOTH THE PROCESS OF GROWING OLD AND THE PLACE OF OLDER PEOPLE IN SOCIETY. THE DIVISION OF NEUROSCIENCE FOSTERS RESEARCH CONCERNED WITH THE AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AS WELL AS THE RELATED SENSORY, PERCEPTUAL, AND COGNITIVE PROCESSES ASSOCIATED WITH AGING AND HAS A SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM: TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE THE SBIR PROGRAM, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM: TO STIMULATE AND FOSTER SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION.

93.866 - Aging Research

National Institute on Aging (NIA) [HHS - NIH]

Minneapolis, Minnesota 554550341 United States

Single Zip Code

Research on Current Topics in Alzheimer's Disease and Its Related Dementias (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) (PAR-19-070)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 388% from $655,080 to $3,194,132.