How past trauma and stress affect caregivers and people with dementia
The impact of stressful and traumatic experiences on the well-being of caregivers and persons living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias
This work looks at how past and ongoing traumatic experiences and stress affect the mental and physical well-being of family caregivers and the people they care for with Alzheimer's or related dementias.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Wake Forest University Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Winston-Salem, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11305261 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you join, researchers will ask about your history of stressful and traumatic events and measure symptoms like post-traumatic stress, depression, and caregiver burden for both you and the person you care for. They will collect this information through questionnaires and interviews and may follow caregivers over time to see how past trauma and current caregiving stress interact. The team will compare background risks (age, sex, race, socioeconomic status), caregiving challenges, and personal coping resources to identify patterns linked to worse outcomes.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Unpaid family caregivers (spouses, adult children, other relatives) of a person diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia who can complete questionnaires and interviews are ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People who are not caregivers for someone with ADRD, paid professional caregivers, or those unable to complete study questionnaires may not benefit directly from this work.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could point to trauma-related factors to target with support or treatment, improving caregiver mental health and the quality of life for people living with dementia.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research has long linked caregiver stress to poorer outcomes and the investigators' pilot data suggest trauma and PTSS are common, but applying PTSS specifically to caregiver burden is a relatively new approach.
Where this research is happening
Winston-Salem, United States
- Wake Forest University Health Sciences — Winston-Salem, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Brenes, Gretchen a — Wake Forest University Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Brenes, Gretchen a
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.