# Person-centered decision making: Developing a choice-based preference tool for transitions in dementia care

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2021 · $718,183

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Sound decision-making about care during cognitive decline is a critical issue for the 5.8 million adults with
Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) in the United States. Older adults (65 years and older)
with ADRD often are excluded from care decisions as their dementia worsens. Little is known about the
decision-making processes of older adults with ADRD concerning transitions from home-based care to long-
term dementia care (e.g. nursing homes, assisted living, and memory care units), or how to best incorporate
older adults with ADRD in the decision-making process. The goal of this research is to advance our
understanding of decision-making processes, and the preferences that influence decision-making, for older
adults with ADRD and their caregivers. This goal will be met through the following aims: 1) Define decision-
making processes and key factors influencing decision-making about transitions in care through qualitative
interviews with older adults with mild to moderate ADRD, caregivers, and dementia care providers to gain a
detailed understanding of the complexities of dementia care decision-making and related preferences. 2)
Develop a dementia care preference elicitation tool for use in assessing the preferences of older adults with
ADRD and their caregivers through novel application of discreet choice methodology in conjunction with
visualization methods and human-centered design to ensure that the tool is responsive to the needs of older
adults with ADRD. 3) Use developed and validated preference elicitation tool to ascertain preferences for
dementia care-related decisions among older adults with ADRD and caregivers. Over a two year period,
investigate the consistency of preferences regarding transitions in care among older adults with ADRD. The
proposed research forms the basis for investigating novel strategies to keep older adults with ADRD
meaningfully involved in decision-making, even as their dementia worsens.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10169223
- **Project number:** 5R01AG066957-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** ANNE M TURNER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $718,183
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-06-01 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10169223

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10169223, Person-centered decision making: Developing a choice-based preference tool for transitions in dementia care (5R01AG066957-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10169223. Licensed CC0.

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