# Care to Plan: Preliminary Efficacy of a Tailored Resource for Family Members of Persons with Dementia

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2020 · $167,983

## Abstract

Project Summary
 Given the well-documented health implications of dementia family caregiving, existing interventions are
designed to modify the more challenging aspects of care for a relative with Alzheimer’s disease or a related
dementia (ADRD) in order to improve key outcomes. However, current research has yet to discern which
caregivers are most likely to benefit from different types of interventions or services. There also remains a lack
of individualized information that can directly meet the heterogeneous needs of caregivers or their relatives
with ADRD. The proposed R21 project will advance scientific knowledge, technical capability, and clinical
practice as they pertain to ADRD management and caregiver support. The research team has developed and
tested the feasibility and utility of an online care planning tool prototype (called Care to Plan, or CtP) that
provides a succinct and clear overview of various types of ADRD caregiver interventions, administers a brief
validated assessment of risk, and generates individualized service recommendations for ADRD caregivers as
well as resources that link users to a selected recommendation. The goal of CtP is to offer a more efficient,
user-directed process to link ADRD caregivers to the services that may be most appropriate for them given
their needs, the needs of their relatives, and other contextual characteristics. We will deploy and more fully
evaluate CtP for family caregivers of persons with ADRD who seek services in Riverside Health System (RHS)
in the state of Virginia. The Specific Aims are to: 1) Implement CtP for 20 family members of persons with
ADRD in four RHS clinical sites (Phase I) over a 1-month period; and 2) Evaluate the preliminary efficacy and
implementation of CtP (Phase II) via an embedded randomized controlled evaluation for 100 newly enrolled
ADRD caregivers over a 6-month period. We anticipate that the CtP will serve as an innovative, low-cost tool
that both families and long-term service and support providers can utilize to better meet the diverse needs of
family caregivers of persons with ADRD in their communities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9990645
- **Project number:** 5R21AG060419-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** JOSEPH E. GAUGLER
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $167,983
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-15 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9990645

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9990645, Care to Plan: Preliminary Efficacy of a Tailored Resource for Family Members of Persons with Dementia (5R21AG060419-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9990645. Licensed CC0.

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