Overview
With a population of 20 million but only 12 neurologists, Zambia faces significant challenges in dementia care. Many families struggle without access to resources or trained professionals. This project introduces peer mentors—experienced caregivers who provide guidance, emotional support, and practical advice to families navigating dementia care.
Project Details
We will establish a peer-led dementia care network to support patients and caregivers in Lusaka, Zambia. Through the National Dementia Association, we will recruit and train 10 experienced caregivers as peer mentors using an adapted Care Ecosystem curriculum from the UCSF Memory and Aging Center. These mentors will provide weekly check-ins, education, and emotional support to caregivers and families navigating a new dementia diagnosis. Thirty newly diagnosed dementia patients and their caregivers will be enrolled into the mentorship program as the intervention group, while another 30 will receive standard care as a control group. We will assess the impact of mentorship through surveys measuring caregiver burden, quality of life, and dementia-related knowledge at the start and end of the study. We anticipate that caregivers in the mentorship program will experience reduced stress and improved ability to manage dementia-related challenges. The findings will inform future community-based dementia support initiatives in Zambia.
Members involved
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