# Creating a Faith-Based Toolbox for African Americans Living with Moderate and Severe Dementia

> **NIH NIH K23** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $191,285

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Fayron Epps, PhD, RN is an Assistant Professor of Nursing at Georgia State University. Her research focuses
on promoting quality of life for older adults living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) and
their family caregivers through improving self-care and promoting and developing meaningful engagement
activities. She is particularly interested in working with and conducting research in faith communities to support
African American (AA) families affected by ADRD. Her long-term career goal is to establish herself as a
productive, independent gerontologist and leader with expertise in family caregiving and ADRD within the AA
community. The candidate proposes a comprehensive training plan that incorporates didactic coursework,
hands-on experiences, active participation in seminars and workshops, and dedicated meetings overseen by
an interdisciplinary mentor team and advisory committee. Dr. Epps’ training plan immerses three goals: 1) to
strengthen skills in biobehavioral research methods with a focus on measuring biological properties related to
stress response; 2) to deepen understanding of the role of religiosity for families affected by ADRD; and 3) to
continue to strengthen academic productivity and leadership skills. The proposed research includes three
aims: 1) develop a prototype faith-based home activity toolkit (Faith-HAT) for AA families living with moderate
and severe ADRD; 2) test the feasibility and explore preliminary effectiveness of employing Faith-HAT; and 3)
construct a refined toolkit of meaningful faith-based home activities. Georgia State University offers an ideal
research environment for the proposed research and training. Study recruitment, retention, and execution will
be conducted in collaboration with Emory University Alzheimer’s Disease and Research Center Minority
Engagement Core and an Atlanta-based Ministerial Alliance. The proposed research will advance ADRD
support by providing AA families with a nonpharmacological intervention and meaningful activities to promote
quality of life. This K23 award will give Dr. Epps essential practical experience in the conduct of program
development and implementation research, as she will be mentored in developing and implementing a clinical
feasibility trial to examine the effect of a home-based religious program on the well-being of AA families
affected by ADRD. At the conclusion of this award, the candidate will have obtained the skills, knowledge, and
preliminary data to successfully become a full-fledged independent investigator improving the health and well-
being of persons with ADRD and their caregivers.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9870428
- **Project number:** 1K23AG065452-01
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Fayron Recha Epps
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $191,285
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-03-15 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9870428

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9870428, Creating a Faith-Based Toolbox for African Americans Living with Moderate and Severe Dementia (1K23AG065452-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9870428. Licensed CC0.

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