AT&T Announces Grant to Center on Aging-University of Miami Miller School o...( Researchers Strive to Help Caregive...),Health

Researchers Strive to Help Caregivers of Dementia Patients Through Grant

MIAMI, March 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) today announced a $49,993 grant to the Center on Aging-University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The funding will be used to examine a computer-integrated system for family caregivers of dementia patients.

Currently, about 9 million adults in the nation provide care to someone suffering from dementia who is 50 years or older. Caring for an individual with dementia is often a very stressful experience for the responsible loved ones and is known to contribute to psychiatric and physical morbidities.

"We're working hard to develop innovative programs to help family members care for their relatives with Alzheimer's disease," said Sara Czaja, Ph.D., co-director of the Center on Aging. "The trend now is to keep patients in their homes instead of sending them to long-term care facilities."

The burden of informal care-giving for family members will grow in the coming years because the number of individuals with dementia is expected to increases to as many as 16 million by 2050.

"With the coming of age of the baby boomers, innovative uses of technology to lessen the strain on caregivers will increasingly become more critical in the care of loved ones," said Marshall Criser III, president of AT&T Florida. "AT&T's support of Dr. Czaja's study will help identify meaningful tools to improve the quality of life for caregivers and provide a positive result to the people in their care."

The intervention method is being delivered through a video telephone system and Internet hookup designed to:

-- Provide caregivers with access to information about dementia,

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