Building Pathways for Caregiver Support

Providing opportunities for support and connection to caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias

Return to Listing

Full Project Name:Building Pathways for Caregiver SupportPrimary Community Organization:TimeSlipsPrimary Academic Partner:Leslie Ruffalo, PhD, MS, Family MedicineAward Amount:$50,000

Award Date

January2024

Project Duration:12 months

Project Summary:

More than 191,000 caregivers provide over 210 million hours of unpaid care to the 120,000 Wisconsin residents living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD), and 83% of those caregivers report experiencing high or very high emotional stress related to caregiving.

Memory cafes are an important aid for caregivers and people living with ADRD, providing safe environments and accessible and stimulating programming, and physical or virtual spaces for caregivers and loved ones to socialize and build connections. There are currently 139 memory cafes throughout Wisconsin, more than any other state in the U.S.

Through this project, TimeSlips will develop an implementation plan for a referral process in Milwaukee County for healthcare providers, community-based organizations, and groups to host memory cafes and provide TimeSlips’ creative communication techniques. This will allow ADRD individuals and their caregivers with connections to underutilized resources with health providers and organizations, reducing loneliness and improving their general well-being.

Outcomes & Lessons Learned:

Generated a geographic summary of the location and defining features (volunteer or staff-supported, virtual or in-person, etc.) of 139 total memory cafes across the state of Wisconsin to advance the understanding of accessibility and opportunity Wisconsinites have in utilizing memory cafe resources
Partnered with Dementia Friendly America to feature Wisconsin's memory cafes in the national directory on the DFA website to provide a searchable function for Wisconsin residents to better locate a memory cafe in their community
Completed interviews with key stakeholder groups (including healthcare team members, community organizations which host memory cafes, senior service organizations, and care partners) which led to thematic analysis of perspectives shared and a greater understanding of awareness of community memory care resources and support for individuals living with Alzheimer's disease and other related dementia
Disseminated findings of this programmatic work in numerous spaces such as at MCW Grand Rounds/Core Research Group meetings, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine annual meetings, and at the Department of Family and Community Medicine's Annual Research Forum