A Collaborative Approach to Dementia Inclusion in Social Work Education: The Dementia Intensive

5.8 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, and this number is rising. Social work can play a key role. Yet, the field is ill prepared for the growing number of individuals and families affected physically, emotionally, and financially. This mixed-methods concurrent study assessed the preliminary efficacy of an education event for students from eight social work programs. Pre- to post training survey included: (a) dementia knowledge, and (b) negative attitudes toward dementia. Bivariate analyses showed that knowledge (mean difference=9.9) and attitudes (10% lower) improved from pre- to post training (p<.05). Collaboration between social work programs can increase student access to strength-based dementia education. Such programs hold the potential of improving dementia capability within the field of social work.