The Faith Care Family Project: A Pilot Intervention for African American Dementia Family Caregivers.

Abstract

The Faith Care Family (FCF) Project was a telephone based, volunteer-led intervention for African American Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) family caregivers that was piloted in one predominantly African American church. Focus groups with faith leaders and parishioners informed the training and intervention. Eighteen church volunteers participated in the FCF Project training, but 9 of them were paired with family caregivers and completed the FCF Project intervention. Church volunteers indicated overall significant improvements knowledge of AD/ADRD after the training as well as after the intervention. Quantitative results indicated that caregivers increased their knowledge of dementia, reported improved coping skills, and reported increased positive aspects of caregiving. Feeling a connection, normalizing the challenges of caregiving, gaining or reinforcing knowledge, and sharing community resources were themes from qualitative interviews with the family caregivers. Overall, findings indicate that the FCF Project shows promise as an intervention for African American AD/ADRD family caregivers.