MassaChusetts General Hospital ROybal CeNter For BehavIoral Dyadic ResEarch in Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (CONFIDE-ADRD): Administrative Component

PROJECT SUMMARY (ADMINISTRATIVE CORE): The mission of the “MassaChusetts General Hospital ROybal CeNter For BehavIoral Dyadic ResEarch in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias” (CONFIDE-ADRD) is the development, optimization, testing and implementation of dyadic behavioral prevention interventions (DBPIs) across the spectrum of ADRD in both hospital and community settings, to improve health and prevent negative individual and dyadic health outcomes. The Administrative Core (AC) will contribute to this mission by guiding the overall direction of CONFIDE-ADRD and serving as a central communication and decision-making hub. The AC will support the CONFIDE-ADRD mission in 3 main ways: 1) organize and guide the center’s overall direction and ensure proper allocation of resources through overseeing the integration with the Behavioral Intervention Development Core, MGH (NIA funded AD/ADRD RCMAR, NIA funded R25 dementia palliative care, NIA funded T32 in behavioral interventions in aging, Mongan Institute, ADRC, Research Institute, Harvard Catalyst, etc) and national (IMPACT Collaboratory, Pepper Centers, Roybal Coordinating Center, other Roybals, RCMAR coordinating center) resources, as well as our Advisory Committee; 2) leverage the CONFIDE-ADRD resources and expertise at all levels of the NIH Stage model including other components of our conceptual model (Science of Behavior Change, NIA Health Disparities Framework, Center for Disease Control Prevention model and dyadic theory and interpersonal processes) to integrate and structure local and national resources and foster experiential learning of research skills necessary to develop, test and implement rigorous dementia DBPIs and swiftly translate them across the NIH stage model and into routine care, and foster interdisciplinary collaborations across investigators; and 3) evaluate and monitor the process and outcome indicators of funded pilot projects and CONFIDE-ADRD activities. Specific aims of the AC are: 1) Coordinate and oversee the administrative functions of CONFIDE-ADRD in order to establish and maintain centralized research resources and a stable research infrastructure to advance dementia DBPI research across the spectrum of ADRD, to improve health and prevent negative health outcomes across hospital and community settings; 2) Optimize the use of all CONFIDE-ADRD center resources and expertise in elements of our conceptual model, to facilitate, monitor, and accelerate pilot research and provide an enriched interdisciplinary environment; and 3) Evaluate funded pilot projects and CONFIDE-ADRD activities, make subsequent refinements, and report annually on the overall effectiveness and efficiency of our Center, its cores, and funded pilot projects. Our Center includes evidence-based method for teaching from Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory as well as a novel method of evaluation that includes the NIH stage model and elements of our conceptual model. The MPI and investigators have rich experience in these methods. CONFIDE-ADRD has the potential to serve as a national model for rigorous training and resource integration in dementia DBPIs.