The VA COACH Program: A Longitudinal Dementia Care Model Focused on the Caregiver in the Home

Population estimates predict continued growth in the number of people who will develop dementia in the coming decades. The number of people living with Alzheimer’s dementia in the United States is projected to increase by approximately 11% from 6.5 million in 2022 to 7.2 million in 2025 [1]. In the Veteran population, growth is also predicted. Between 2022 and 2033, an expected increase of 29.7% of Veteran patients served by the Veteran Health Administration (VHA) will be living with Alzheimer’s dementia (around 217,300) [2] and many of these will be in community- or home-based settings. Caring for someone living with dementia in a home-based setting can create an astounding caregiver burden that is inadequately addressed by medical models of care focused on the diagnosis of dementia, primary dementia education, and pharmacologic interventions within a medical appointment. Care models that provide tailored, longitudinal interventions for individuals living with dementia and their caregivers compared to general caregiver support group referrals have been shown to reduce caregiver burden and have better overall outcomes [3].