Providing Dementia Outreach Education to Rural Communities: Lessons Learned From a Train-the-Trainer Program

Abstract

Although several educational outreach programs designed to address the needs of older adults with dementia in rural areas have been reported in the literature, few have been systematically evaluated. The purpose of this article is to describe the Dementia Education Train-the-Trainer Program (DE-TTT-P), designed to disseminate information about dementia in rural areas of Michigan. Twenty-eight health care providers completed the DE-TTT-P and now serve as trainers. Over the course of the 18-month program, 3,276 rural residents attended one of the 223 dementia education sessions offered by the trainers. After summarizing the design, implementation, and evaluation of the program, the discussion offers lessons learned and strategies to maintain the newly formed network of trainers beyond the official project period.