Dementia Outreach Lexington: Diagnosis/Treatment and Services for African-Americans

Scope: Kentucky's Office of Aging Services in collaboration with the Sanders Brown Center on Aging and the Greater Kentucky and Southern Indiana Chapter ofthe Alzheimer's Association will conduct a three-year program to increase awareness of dementia and utilization of dementia care services by the African- American community. The objectives of this project are: (1) to increase awareness of dementia in the LexingtonlFayette County African-American population; (2) to provide dementia diagnostic services for African-Americans in their community setting and: (3) to offer two separate services through churches - support groups and a Best Friends care pro~am - to complement programs already in place. During the initial period of this grant this project will work to increase awareness of the symptoms of dementia and the availability of clinical services and programs that serve both patient and caregivers. The utilization of clinical dementia diagnostic services in the African- American community has been historically low. This grant includes responsive expansion of this service as awareness and demand increase. Expected outcomes are increased use of diagnostic and treatment services already in place in an African-American neighborhood and an increased sense of satisfaction with caregiving efforts. Products will include model informational material on dementia and available services, training materials for coaching caregivers and patients, evaluation tools, a final report and manuscripts for publication. Goal: To increase awareness of dementia and utilization of services by the African-American community. This program will offer dementia diagnostic services for African-Americans in their communities and offer two separate services through local churches: 1) support groups and 2) a Best Friends care program.