Tasneem Qurashi
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Research Mentor(s): Sheria Robinson-Lane
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Systems, Populations, and Leadership / Nursing
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 4 – 2:40pm – 3:30 pm
Room: League Ballroom
Authors:
Presenter: 7
Abstract
Compared to older White Americans, older Black Americans are nearly twice as likely to have Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias (ADRD). The caregiver role is particularly important for Black Americans who are also more likely to care for loved ones with dementia at home. Informal caregiving of older adults with ADRD is associated with a heightened risk for mental and physical health problems for caregivers. To this end, our team is developing a caregiver support focused clinical trial that will help Black caregivers to help improve their quality of life and aid them in the caregiving process. Our planned intervention includes a series of education modules. This project describes the development of our pain module which focuses on how to properly manage and assess pain in persons with dementia as well as one’s self. 34 relevant articles were compiled by searching keywords on the PubMed database and the University of Michigan’s library catalog. A combination of key search terms included “dementia,†“caregiver,†“pain coping,†“pain management,†“pain assessment,†and “chronic pain.†Articles were further assessed and narrowed down based on publication date and relevance. The primary findings identified observational assessment tools and non-verbal pain indicators for persons with advanced dementia such as restlessness, rubbing, resistance, physical aggression, and rigidity. Effective pain management techniques for the caregiver and the care recipient included as physical activity, mindfulness-based interventions, and medications were also identified. Content from these articles will be formatted into a simple module including help-sheets and videos with user friendly language for caregivers of all backgrounds.
Biomedical Sciences, Public Health
