Developing a Culturally Immersive Psychoeducational Intervention for Black Immigrant Older Adults with Dementia and Their Caregivers: The Black Immigrant Project

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Project Abstract Black immigrants are poised to make up a significant portion of the Black older adult population and similar to U.S. born Black older adults, are at risk of poor health outcomes related to dementia. However, few efforts have culturally adapted dementia care and caregiving interventions for racial/ethnic minority populations. Existing adaptations have not been systematically conducted or documented, and have not focused on Black immigrants. The objective of this K01 award is to acquire targeted training in the cultural adaptation and feasibility testing of behavioral interventions for racial/ethnic minority older adults. The candidate’s training goals are to: 1) Build expertise in dementia, cognitive impairment, and long- term care for Black immigrant older adults; 2) Expand skills in the development, delivery, and implementation of culturally relevant behavioral interventions for Black immigrants; 3) Design and conduct a feasibility study with community dwelling older adults; 4) Apply advanced statistical methods to analyze paired, longitudinal, pre-and post-test, and clinical trial data; and 5) Obtain the experience necessary to advance as a well-rounded successful independent scientist (e.g. grant writing expertise, increased first-author peer-reviewed publications, mentorship of junior scholars etc.). Mentored research training will occur in the context of a dedicated project with these specific aims:1) Explore the experiences and care strategies used by Black immigrant older adults with dementia and their informal caregivers. 2) Guided by the Ecological Validity Model, use the knowledge gained from Aim 1 to culturally adapt the evidenced-based Active Caregiving: Empowering Skills (ACES) for Black immigrant older adults with dementia and their informal caregivers. 3) Determine the feasibility and acceptability of the culturally adapted ACES intervention with Black immigrant older adults with dementia and their informal caregivers. The candidate’s mentoring team has extensive expertise in these areas and will offer mentoring, consultation, hands-on training, networking/collaborations and resources to facilitate the candidate’s career development. The 2020 NIA Dementia Care Summit Gaps and Opportunities highlights the need for research that explores differences in the effects of social and cultural determinants of dementia care and caregiving. Completion of this research and training meets this research need and will enable the candidate to become a successful independent scientist with substantive expertise in dementia care and cultural adaptation of interventions for racial/ethnic minority community-dwelling older adults. This is an important step towards improving health outcomes and eliminating health inequities for these populations.