Rural Project Examples: Informal caregivers

Evidence-Based Examples

Project ENABLE (Educate, Nurture, Advise, Before Life Ends)

Updated/reviewed February 2024

• Need: To enhance palliative care access to rural patients with advanced cancer or heart failure and their family caregivers.
• Intervention: Project ENABLE consists of: 1) an initial in-person palliative care consultation with a specialty-trained provider and 2) a semi-structured series of weekly, phone-delivered, nurse-led or palliative care coach/navigator sessions designed to help patients and their caregivers enhance their problem-solving, symptom management, and coping skills.
• Results: Patients and caregivers report higher quality of life and lower rates of depression and (caregiver) burden.

Promising Examples

Project C.A.R.E.

Updated/reviewed October 2023

• Need: There is a lack of dementia-specific support for rural caregivers.
• Intervention: Project C.A.R.E. was created to meet the needs of underserved caregivers of those with Alzheimer's or other dementias, targeting rural North Carolina.
• Results: Under Project C.A.R.E., rural families receive information and referrals as well as individualized care consultation from dementia-trained family consultants.