New York University Caregiver Intervention Research Project (NYUCI-ES) aims to improve the health of Chinese and Korean caregivers of dementia patients. Currently, the project is recruiting 150 Chinese caregivers of dementia patients to participate in a home visit survey as part of the intervention program. Caregivers who qualify and complete the home visit program will receive a $200 gift card.
NYUCI-ES is a project initiated by the Rutgers-New York University Center for Asian Health Equity established by Professor Bei Wu from the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing and Professor Soko Setoguchi from Rutgers Medical School in 2021, with funding support from the National Institutes of Health. NYUCI-ES is led by Professor Bei Wu and Mary S. Mittelman, Chief Scientist at NYU Langone Medical Center.
Professor Bei Wu and CaringKind held a press conference in Manhattan on April 23rd, where Professor Wu mentioned the effective execution of similar programs in Hispanic, White, and African American communities in Minnesota, New York, and Australia. However, she emphasized the necessity of programs tailored to improve the quality of life for the Chinese community, given that Chinese immigrants have the fastest-growing population among Asians.
CaringKind, Fucan Healthcare, PineTree Community Services, Chinese American Planning Council, and Mutual Loving Home are all organizations assisting in the New York University Caregiver Intervention Research Project. Weijing Shi, Vice President of Diversified Services at CaringKind, stressed the high prevalence of depression among caregivers of dementia patients and welcomed intervention programs to study and enhance the caregiving environment.
NYUCI-ES collaborates with eligible caregivers of dementia patients, providing free services such as understanding dementia knowledge, counseling consultations, and joining WeChat support groups. Caregivers who complete three home visits and share their caregiving experiences with NYUCI-ES will receive a $150 VISA gift card. Participants willing to undergo blood tests for their health conditions will receive an additional $50 VISA gift card, and referees recommending successful caregivers for the program will be rewarded with a $20 VISA gift card.
Professor Bei Wu expressed her hope that NYUCI-ES will benefit Chinese caregivers of dementia patients by enhancing their social support, reducing stress and depression levels, and improving chronic disease indicators like hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and obesity.
NYUCI-ES plans to recruit 150 middle-aged and elderly Chinese caregivers in the New York metropolitan area looking after family members with memory issues. If individuals are over fifty years old, living in northern New Jersey or New York and its surrounding areas, and caring for family members with memory problems (without requiring a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or related dementia), they roughly qualify for recruitment. For more information about NYUCI-ES, please contact Ms. Liang at 212-998-9309 (Mandarin/Cantonese/English), or email at [email protected].