Pair 2 Care: Peer Support for Caregivers of African Americans Living with Alzheimer

The purpose of this project is to use a stakeholder-informed approach to further develop and pilot test Pair2Care, a culturally tailored caregiver support program to meet palliative care needs through advance care planning and healthcare decision making for African Americans living with ADRD and their caregivers. A community advisory board will be convened to further develop and refine the program. Trained former caregivers will be paired with current caregivers for peer mentorship. Feasibility and acceptability of the program will be assessed by evaluating eligibility criteria, recruitment and retention data, protocol adherence, satisfaction, and feedback on appropriateness for broader dissemination. Preliminary outcomes of caregiver anxiety, depression, quality of life, social support, self-efficacy for surrogate decision making, and intent to use palliative care or hospice services will determine potential program effectiveness. The proposed project will provide preliminary data to inform further program testing towards improving quality of life for African American ADRD caregivers.