Philip Sloane, MD, MPH and Sheryl Zimmerman, PhD lead team to develop Alzheimer’s Medical Advisor website

Program on Aging, Disability, and Long-term Care co-directors Philip Sloane, MD, MPH and Sheryl Zimmerman, PhD are leading a multidisciplinary team to develop Alzheimer’s Medical Advisor,© a website that aims to help family caregivers of persons with dementia deal with new and worsening medical symptoms in their relatives.  When people with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias develop symptoms, such as cough, fever, or agitation, their family caregivers have to decide whether the problem is minor enough to try treating at home, or whether to go to a physician’s office or the emergency department.  This can be challenging when the person with dementia has difficulty communicating accurately how they feel, or resists going to medical providers.  As a result, family caregivers need tools to help them assess, make decisions, communicate with medical providers about, and potentially manage symptoms that could represent new or evolving medical illness.

Financial support for website development and evaluation is provided by a grant from the National Center for Nursing Research (NINR).