Team Impact Award 2023

The UGA Cognitive Aging Research and Education (CARE) Team is tackling one of the most debilitating public health problems faced by Georgians: Alzheimer’s disease. CARE is a clinical, research and outreach program delivering brain health education, improving access to diagnosis, conducting cutting-edge research and providing support for families affected by dementia. Inside the CARE hub, the team has already provided diagnosis and post-diagnosis support to more than 100 local families and counting. Outside the hub, the CARE team serves 11 geographically, racially, ethnically and economically diverse rural communities. CARE begins by learning about community needs from local stakeholders affected by dementias. Then, the team translates what it learns into a tailored action plan that guides CARE’s work in creating a dementia-informed community, removing barriers to accessing a diagnosis and providing support to caregivers. Finally, the CARE team works with each community to achieve the goals in its unique action plan and studies the impact.