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Dementia and Cognitive Impairment
Topic Spotlight
An estimated 14 million Americans are projected to have Alzheimer's disease by 2050. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
PCORI has funded 13 comparative clinical effectiveness research studies related to dementia and cognitive impairment. (As of February 2022)
As many as 15 million family members and friends provide unpaid care for patients with Alzheimer's and other dementias. (Alzheimer's Association)
Database Identifies Emerging Technologies, Innovations
PCORI's Health Care Horizon Scanning System identifies and monitors new and emerging healthcare technologies and innovations with high potential to change the current standard of care. This systematic process informs PCORI’s investments in patient-centered outcomes research.
PCORI’s Horizon Scanning Database offers healthcare decision makers findings about advancements in six key areas of interest: Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, COVID-19, mental and behavioral health, and rare diseases. This database can be used by patients, care partners, and others to track advancements in care options.
2021 PCORI Virtual Annual Meeting
The 2021 meeting included a breakout session relating to dementia care, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Study Results that Support Better-Informed Decisions
Outpatient Palliative Care for Parkinson’s Disease Shows Promise with Patients and Families
This PCORI-funded study compared the effectiveness of team-based outpatient palliative care to current standards of care for people living with Parkinson’s disease. The palliative care intervention included quarterly visits with a team that included a neurologist, social worker, chaplain, and nurse who used checklists to assess and manage palliative care.
The research team reported in JAMA Neurology that, compared to usual care that used a neurologist and primary care practitioner, patients receiving palliative care at six months had improvements in their quality of life, symptom control, grief, and advance care planning. Caregivers had improved anxiety and spiritual well-being at six months and reduced caregiving burden at 12 months. A related editorial calls palliative care “the next frontier” in treating Parkinson’s disease.
Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Study Spotlights
Improving Life for Women with Parkinson’s Disease
PCORI awardees, through a Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award, have built a national, prioritized research and care agenda for women with Parkinson’s disease.
Seeking to Delay Dementia with Behavioral Interventions
This study is comparing the effects of each of the five components of an intensive, multipronged behavioral intervention that is designed to delay or prevent onset of dementia in people with mild cognitive impairment.
Improving Dementia Care for Underserved People
This study is assessing a tool kit and training program to improve dementia patients’ safety and quality of life and to reduce inappropriate antipsychotic use.