By Bret Yager
Each day, millions of Americans give care to a family member living with dementia—often for years and across multiple stages of a progressive condition. While support resources exist, many caregivers struggle to find individualized guidance, especially dementia care specialists who can offer ongoing, one-on-one consultation outside traditional medical settings.
This semester, a team of seven Master of Science in Occupational Therapy students in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at Appalachian State University worked alongside faculty advisor Dr. Heather McKay to help address that gap. Through a semester-long applied scholarly inquiry course, students used qualitative research methods to inform the design of DCS Near Me—a proposed statewide, web-based directory and interactive map intended to help caregivers more easily locate credentialed dementia care specialists (DCS) in North Carolina.
To prepare for future platform development, students gathered and analyzed stakeholder perspectives to understand what such a tool would need to be trusted, accessible and sustainable over time.
“Our team’s goal this semester was to listen carefully—to families, dementia care professionals, credentialing organizations, and technology experts—and translate what we heard into clear design guidance,” said McKay. “The students’ work provides the foundation for what comes next.”
Using a qualitative research approach guided by a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) framework, students conducted semi-structured interviews with dementia care specialists working across both urban and rural settings, representatives from credentialing organizations and a technology specialist. Their analysis revealed a consistent challenge: caregivers often do not know that dementia care specialist services exist—and when they do, they struggle to find reliable, centralized information, often not until they are already in crisis.
“It became clear very quickly that families are left to piece things together on their own,” said student Marisa Lorenzetti. “People rely heavily on word-of-mouth to find a consulting dementia care specialist—either in person or online—and that’s not a dependable system when you’re overwhelmed and trying to help someone you love.”
Students synthesized their findings into concrete implications for the directory, including eligibility and verification standards for providers, accessibility and usability considerations for caregivers, strategies for public awareness and systems to keep information accurate over time.
“The project really shifted from ‘What did we hear?’ to ‘What does this mean for building something families can actually use and trust?’” Lorenzetti said.
The team’s report also indicated that while the initial focus is North Carolina, the need for clearer access to dementia consultation services extends far beyond the state. Nationally, millions of family caregivers could benefit from improved navigation and connection to specialized dementia support.
Next steps for the DCS Near Me initiative include pursuing external grant funding, developing a prototype directory informed by the students’ findings and conducting feasibility testing with caregivers and professionals. McKay plans to continue advancing the project in collaboration with future MSOT student cohorts and interdisciplinary partners at App State, emphasizing student–faculty collaboration, stakeholder engagement and translational scholarship.
“I think this could be a huge asset for people navigating a really challenging role—especially families in rural communities who don’t have easy access to specialized dementia support,” Lorenzetti said. “Caring for someone with dementia means adapting to a relationship that keeps changing over time. If we can ease that burden by connecting families with knowledgeable professionals through online consultation and supportive networks, we can make that role—and that journey—feel more manageable.”
App State graduate student applied scholarly project team:
- Grace Brown ‘23, Burlington, NC
- Lauren Johnston, Cary, NC
- Jordan Grace, Haymarket, VA
- Bailey Williams ‘23, Taylorsville, NC
- Marisa Lorenzetti, Vestal, NY
- Georgiana Coco Maier ‘24, Cornelius, NC
- Abby Reeves ‘24, Lenoir, NC
Mountaineer Discovery: This story is part of a series highlighting student research, creativity and innovation at App State. Join the Office of Student Research for the 29th annual Celebration of Student Research and Creative Endeavors on Wednesday, April 22.
wo groups of women stand clustered around the end of a slide inside a classroom
The team that is conducting the dementia care research access including Dr. Heather McKay share a visual about their research. Photo submitted.