title: Reducing safety risk among underserved caregivers with an Alzheimer's home safety program.
abstract: Older adults living with Alzheimer's disease (AD) experience more of the types of accidents and injuries prevalent among older adults. Relatively few studies specifically on safety risks have included older adults of color and tested interventions. This pilot study tested the feasibility and evaluability of educating Hispanic and African American caregivers of patients living with AD about reducing safety risks in their homes.
  
  
  
  This outpatient memory clinic-based intervention study included a pre-/post-test survey design with two nonequivalent groups and predominately serves Hispanic and African Americans. Of 60 eligible caregivers, 67% participated in a tailored, safety training class with an optional follow-up call.
  
  
  
  The results indicate a reduction in some safety risks compared to baseline and/or a no intervention group, respectively, including leaving patients at home alone part-time (p < .01 and p < .01), getting lost (p < .05 and p < .05), going outdoors alone less often (p < .05 and p < .01), and giving themselves medicine (p < .05 and p < .01). At post-test, 47 clinically significant instances occurred, in which caregivers who participated in the intervention self-reported patients living with AD to be 'completely safe' in one or more of the safety risk items compared to 8 instances among those who did not.
  
  
  
  This pilot pre/post design with non-equivalent groups study needs refinement in a future randomized control trial. Despite limitations, this pilot study demonstrates the first feasible and evaluable intervention with both statistically and clinically significant results that suggest potential for reducing safety risks among at-risk minority patients living with AD in future research.
authors.affiliation: a Departments of Social Welfare & Medicine/Geriatrics , University of California Los Angeles , Los Angeles , CA , United States.
authors.forename: Lené
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Levy-Storms
authors.affiliation: b Alzheimer's Greater Los Angeles , Los Angeles , CA , United States.
authors.forename: Debra L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Cherry
authors.affiliation: c Department of Social Welfare , University of California , Los Angeles , Los Angeles , CA.
authors.forename: Linda J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: d Memory Disorders Clinic, UCLA/Olive View Medical Center , Los Angeles , CA , United States.
authors.forename: Sheldon M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Wolf
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000193:education*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061214:Patient Safety; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015397:Program Evaluation; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D057566:Self Report
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; aging; caregivers; community-based; safety