Refining a Driving Cessation Management Intervention for Person with Dementia and their Family Caregivers: CarFreeMe

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Project Summary/Abstract The loss of one’s ability to drive during the course of Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease related dementias (AD/ADRD) may adversely influence sense of identity as well as independence, and descriptive research has emphasized the need for more individualized intervention approaches that emphasize relationships and support, family dynamics, grief, and community access options. However, there remain few rigorously designed or effective interventions that assist families navigate the challenges of driving cessation. Researchers from the University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia have developed a prototype driving cessation intervention for persons with AD/ADRD and their family caregivers called “CarFreeMe.” CarFreeMe is a seven- module program that is flexibly delivered either in-person or via telephone and is currently under evaluation in Australia. This proposed R21 will feature an international collaboration between the University of Minnesota and UQ to tailor and examine the feasibility of a novel adaption of CarFreeMe in the U.S to assist persons with AD/ADRD and their family caregivers manage the driving cessation transition in joint fashion. The Specific Aims are: 1) to develop and revise CarFreeMe among 20 persons with AD/ADRD and their caregivers in the U.S. A convergent parallel mixed methods design will be utilized to examine the administration of CarFreeMe for 20 family caregivers and persons with AD/ADRD over a 3-month period in Phase I. The findings will help to refine CarFreeMe, with a particular emphasis on tailoring the content for U.S. users; and 2) pilot-test a revised version of CarFreeMe over a 6-month period. A sequential explanatory mixed methods design will be utilized to pilot test CarFreeMe in Phase II. We will enroll 50 person with AD/ADRD and family caregiver dyads to participate in the intervention over a 6-month period. We will determine whether CarFreeMe is carried out as intended and is deemed feasible, acceptable, and useful over a 6-month period. Identifying persons with AD/ADRD and family caregivers in the community struggling with driving cessation and enhancing access to professionals who offer consultation during this care transition address multiple national recommendations. If successful, the proposed R21 will position CarFreeMe for a subsequent randomized controlled evaluation and later as a flexible, much-needed evidence-based resource that healthcare systems and other providers could offer families during and after the driving cessation transition.