UA Alzheimer’s Care Research to Help National Panel in Preparing Action Plan

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A key Alzheimer’s disease study group, co-chaired by former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey, is tapping the expertise of a University of Alabama researcher to brief its members on caregiver support.

Dr. Louis Burgio, distinguished research professor at The University of Alabama’s Center for Mental Health and Aging, will prepare a PowerPoint slide series for a briefing Tuesday, March 11 to help the Alzheimer’s Study Group in the area of caregiver support. The area is one of 16 on which the group is focusing. Burgio also will be interviewed by telephone, and his presentation and interview will be made public by the committee.

Burgio said one key aspect in looking at national Alzheimer’s policy lies in finding ways through government policy to intervene when caregivers for Alzheimer’s patients need help.

“The assistance available to Alzheimer’s caregivers is minimal,” Burgio said. “We’ve got to change that. We are currently experiencing a public health crisis that will become a public health catastrophe over the next 20 years unless we begin addressing this problem right now. This is one of those rare opportunities to affect policy.”

The Alzheimer’s Study Group (http://www.alzstudygroup.org) is a task force of national leaders charged with creating an Alzheimer’s National Strategic Plan, according to the group’s Web site. The group is assessing the country’s efforts to combat Alzheimer’s and recommend strategies to accelerate progress toward defeating the disease. In addition to Gingrich and Kerrey, group members include former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and former U.S. Surgeon General David Sacher.

Burgio has worked extensively in applied gerontology and has been the recipient of continued National Institutes of Health funding since 1990. He was a member of NIH’s National Council for Nursing Research. His research focuses on examining environmental and behavioral interventions for reducing stress in dementia caregivers in community and nursing home settings. Burgio has written more than 130 articles, is a fellow of American Psychological Association, and is on the board of editors for several aging-related journals, including Psychology and Aging.

The mission of UA’s Center for Mental Health and Aging is to develop new knowledge, test new interventions, and disseminate information related to mental health and aging. Faculty and students from the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Social Work, the Capstone College of Nursing, the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration, the College of Engineering, the College of Human Environmental Sciences, and the College of Community Health Sciences are involved with the center.