With New Alzheimer’s Research Center, Zimmerman Helps States Strengthen Dementia Care
By 2050 the United States Census Bureau predicts that nearly 1 in 4 people in the United States will be 65 or older. Already, nearly 7 million Americans in this age group are living with Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, a number that will increase substantially as the population ages.
To prepare for this growth, states need plans to effectively support individuals living with Alzheimer’s and related dementias, as well as those involved in their care. While individual research projects and interventions are doing important work in this area, the scale of the issue requires initiatives that take a big picture approach, assessing existing services to identify gaps in care and evaluate the impacts of current policy and practice.
The State Alzheimer’s Research Support Center (StARS) is doing just that.
Launched in October 2024 as part of a $17 million grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ National Institutes of Health, StARS brings together organizations and universities from around the country — including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research — to support states in evaluating and enhancing their plans for dementia-related care.
Sheryl Zimmerman —the associate dean for research and Kenan Distinguished Professor at Carolina’s School of Social Work, who also serves as the co-director of the Sheps Center’s Program on Aging, Chronic Illness, and Long-Term Care — plays a key part in this endeavor, joining experts in fields ranging from epidemiology to nursing to public health.
This collaborative, cross-disciplinary approach is fundamental, Zimmerman notes.
“Promoting the well-being of older adults and their care partners requires the efforts of individuals from numerous disciplines and organizations,” she said.
Regarding her own contribution, she added, “This project brought together the strengths of many leaders in the field, and there was a position that I was well-positioned to fill. My deep immersion in long-term services and supports, dementia and community-engaged research is central to my role in this project.”
Evaluating dementia care
As co-lead of the StARS Partnership and Engagement Core, Zimmerman works with state representatives to evaluate their existing dementia care services and develop research projects to strengthen their services through partnerships with key providers.
To conduct these evaluations, states need input from experts in the field. Zimmerman and her colleagues at StARS organize meetings between state representatives and national panels of researchers, dementia care providers, and state-level policy experts. In addition, lived experience panels composed of individuals living with dementia and their care partners provide essential insights into the experiences of people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.
The input from these panels helps states determine which interventions to prioritize and, with guidance from Zimmerman and other StARS members, design research projects to explore their feasibility and impacts on patient care.
For example, a state may want to examine how care navigators assist those living with Alzheimer’s or related dementias move through the health care system and access necessary services and resources. To investigate the feasibility of this approach, they could develop a research project to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of providing statewide care navigation services. The outcomes of these projects will help states determine the most effective ways to strengthen their dementia care and support programs.
In addition to partnering with state representatives to improve the integration and coordination of their dementia care services, StARS will also make connections across state lines.
The center plans to develop a nationwide data infrastructure to enable comprehensive comparisons of services across states. It will also share the data and insights it generates with involved parties ranging from policymakers and administrative agencies to persons living with dementia and their families. By disseminating this information, StARS will aid national efforts to develop scalable, sustainable and evidence-backed dementia care plans.
Further pursuits in care
In addition to her work with StARS, Zimmerman is also taking a leadership role in other new, national initiatives promoting research capacity and improving care provision for older adults, including those living with dementia. She is the assisted living expert for the $81 million NIA-funded National Dementia Workforce Study, which is collecting data about the dementia care workforce in assisted living facilities, nursing homes, home care settings, and clinical care environments. She leads the recruitment and retention core of NEXT STEPs, an NIA-funded project working to increase the inclusion of nursing home residents in clinical trials.
Zimmerman also conducts significant research aimed at improving the care services available to older adults, including leading three current clinical trials investigating interventions related to fall reduction, oral hygiene, and dementia care training. In addition, she is the executive director of the national Center for Excellence in Assisted Living (CEAL@UNC).
For Zimmerman, these many and varied endeavors are all united by a common purpose.
“For all of my work, the goal is to promote evidence-based practice and policies to advance the well-being of older adults and their care partners,” she said.
by Lydia Rose Rappoport-Hankins
Advancing equity. Transforming systems. Improving lives.
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