Older adults with Alzheimer's disease in a faith community

In the first phase of this study, focus groups were conducted with 12 clergy to explore how to meet the needs of Alzheimer's disease patients and their families. The clergy reported that although they do reach out to these families, they have not received formal training, so they often do not know what families need. Members of their congregations who are trained in working with Alzheimer's patients need to partner with the clergy in reaching out to these families. Although this article mainly focuses on the clergy's perspective, in the second phase of the study, caregivers and early-stage Alzheimer's patients were asked to describe their experiences of spiritual connections related to Alzheimer's disease.