1. Introduction
Alzheimer’s disease, memory impairment, ADRD, dementia
Objectives: A culturally informed, peer-led, lay provider model, the Senior Companion Program (SCP) Plus, was implemented to decrease caregiving burden/stress and improve coping skills and social support for African American ADRD caregivers. This study reported the preliminary effectiveness of this intervention. Methods: An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used in this study, and a randomized control trial was conducted for the SCP Plus intervention among participants in three sites (Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD) is one of the most challenging chronic health conditions in the United States, and its prevalence for Americans age 65 and older is projected to grow from 58 million in 2021 to 88 million by 2050 [There are many empirically supported psychosocial and psychoeducational interventions for ADRD family caregivers [Peer-based interventions can reduce caregiver isolation and provide a space for caregivers to exchange dementia-related knowledge [Although the SCP serves persons with memory impairment, including ADRD, there is no specific program component related to ADRD family caregiving in terms of education and training [Examine whether the SCP Plus helped senior companions gain more knowledge of dementia, preparedness of caregiving and sense of competence. We hypothesized that senior companions will improve significantly on these three outcomes.Investigate whether the SCP Plus helped African American family caregivers after the intervention when compared to the service as usual (SAU) control group on the major study outcomes. We hypothesized that the SCP Plus will significantly reduce caregiving burden/stress and appraisal of problem behaviors, increase knowledge of ADRD, as well as improve coping skills, level of social support, positive aspects of caregiving, cultural justifications for caregiving, and overall well-being in caregivers.Explore the experiences of family caregivers and senior companions with the SCP Plus after intervention.