Developing shared medical appointments for informal caregivers of Alzheimer’s and Dementia patients to improve knowledge, communication, and advanced planning

The project aims to address the challenges faced by informal caregivers of ADRD patients who are often unprepared for the disease's progression and end-of-life (EOL) discussions. The objective is to identify significant EOL concerns to create a culturally sensitive and health literacy-mindful SMA. This involves conducting surveys and interviews to identify topics, consulting ADRD and caregiving experts on SMA structure, and evaluating the SMA using pre/post measures. The long-term goal is to conduct a randomized control trial of SMAs across several hospitals to assess their effectiveness in increasing ADRD knowledge and promoting goal-concordant EOL discussions.