2024 New Investigator Awards Program (NIAP)
Care recipients' health trajectories and unpaid caregiving costs
How does the overall health of individuals living with mild cognitive impairment impact caregiver support and its associated cost?
Emma Zang, Ph.D.
Yale University
New Haven, CT - United States
Background
Caregivers are a vital part of support systems for the aging population, and caregiver responsibilities for individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), are substantially greater than those for cognitively unimpaired older adults. Due to high healthcare costs and the financial burden associated with MCI or early Alzheimer’s, many individuals living with MCI rely on unpaid family members for supportive care. However, limited research exists on the impact of overall health and healthcare resource utilization on unpaid caregiver support for individuals living with MCI.
Research Plan
For their studies, Dr. Emma Zang and colleagues will leverage large-scale datasets that include clinical, demographic, caregiver, and healthcare cost data for older adults with MCI as well as cognitively unimpaired older adults. They will use these datasets to examine the differences in health outcomes, healthcare resource utilization (such as home health visits and hospital admissions), and the extent of unpaid caregiver costs for those living with MCI compared with age-matched cognitively unimpaired individuals. Lastly, the team will examine the impact of social determinants of health, including socioeconomic status, income, and education level for those with MCI on unpaid caregiver costs.
Impact
Results of this study may provide new insights into the financial burden of MCI on healthcare utilization and unpaid caregiver responsibilities. The findings could lead to the development of new resources and programs to support unpaid caregivers of individuals with MCI or early Alzheimer’s.
The New Investigator Program Award (NIAP) is jointly funded by the Alzheimer's Association and National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center.