Prevention of Financial Abuse Among Elders Affected by Cognitive Decline: A Randomized Controlled Trial In Three Rural Communities

This randomized controlled trial (RCT) will test the efficacy, effectiveness and cost benefit of a financial abuse prevention model for elders living in rural Michigan (MI) who experience cognitive declines. The intervention targets elders, their caregivers, and service professionals providing psychosocial education, case management, and local Financial Abuse Specialist Teams (FAST) to raise awareness, build competence, and provide coaching and consultation to safeguard against and intervene in financial abuse. The researchers have partnered with local aging service agencies in Battle Creek, Manistee, and Marquette. The agencies serve 11 rural counties in the surrounding areas. A total of 106 older adults, 78 family caregivers and 70 service professionals will be enrolled and randomly assigned to intervention groups or control groups across the three sites. Qualitative data collected from community financial abuse prevention caseworkers and participants in the intervention groups will be analyzed to determine program efficacy. The effectiveness of this program will be evaluated collecting outcome data over a 15-month period using validated instruments/scales. Short and long-term outcomes include elders with higher awareness of, lower risk for, and fewer incidents of financial abuse; family caregivers with higher awareness of financial abuse, increased competence in dementia care, fewer abuse behaviors, and fewer financial abuse incidents; and service professionals with higher awareness of dementia and financial abuse, increased competence in identifying and reporting financial abuse, and more reported cases of financial abuse to APS or referrals to supportive services. The cost-benefit analysis will compare the cost-benefit ratio between intervention groups and control groups. "Note: This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law," and complies with Part 200 Uniform Requirements - 2 CFR 200.210(a)(14). CA/NCF