Dementia Care Education (DCE), a Phoenix-based provider of dementia care training and education, has partnered with Phoenix-based Cognitive Clinical Trials (CCT) to bring clinical trials and Alzheimer’s-related research to patients near their homes at senior living communalities and other nearby clinics staffed by physicians, clinical coordinators and other professionals.
CCT’s innovative model of embedding clinical trials into the community is a perfect paring with Dementia Care Education’s work to train, educate and connect people and professionals with Alzheimer’s information and next steps, said Brian Browne, president of DCE.
“There are currently more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease,” said CJ Anderson, president of Cognitive Clinical Trials. “This number is expected to rise to 14 million by 2050. We are in a position, through clinical research, to develop potential treatments if we receive adequate support and awareness from research volunteers and their families. With the right effort, education and support we can truly make Alzheimer’s a memory disease of the past.”
Many clinical trials are unsuccessful due to under-enrollment from research participants. Many times, travel, transportation, awareness and cost are factors in the failure of ongoing clinical trials. CCT’s model aims to change this paradigm by bringing trials closer to where potential participants live.
“This is the first-time clinical research has been embedded into senior living and memory care facilities,” said Browne, a longtime dementia care researcher in Greater Phoenix. “By embedding clinical research within senior living communities, you have an opportunity to provide hope and appeal directly to residents living in those communities but additionally, you can engage and educate the surrounding community to understand and participate in cutting-edge clinical research within a few miles of their homes, therefore eliminating the majority of the travel issues as well as creating a community feel for research participants.”
Browne said one of the major barriers in clinical research is education, which has the ability to create a dialog and answers questions while providing a clear call to action – many do not understand the value of participating in trials nor that there are convenient options available to them.
“Education and outreach are critical to improving the health, knowledge and well-being of seniors and general public,” adds Browne. “Clinical trials and on-going education are key to solving our growing dementia health crisis.”
Currently, CCT offers trails at six locations around Greater Phoenix and three in Omaha, Neb. Expansion will occur in other regions as CCT continues to grow and expand.
