THIS TOO SHALL PASS: WEATHERING THE STORM AS OLDER FEMALE FAMILY CAREGIVERS FOR THOSE WITH AD/ADRD DURING COVID-19

Abstract Background Older female caregivers of persons with AD/ADRD are under-represented, under-reported, and understudied. Purpose: This qualitative study aimed to understand how COVID-19 affects older female caregivers' lived experience, ongoing capacity, and willingness to provide care for their loved one(s) with AD/ADRD. Specific Aims: Aim 1: Explicate older female caregivers' lived experience in the context of caring for family members with AD/ADRD during COVID-19. Aim 2: Elucidate how COVID-19 affected older female caregivers' relationships with their family members with AD/ADRD. Method: 172 units of meaning were extracted from 327 pages of transcripts and 972 minutes of interviews with urban (n = 10) and rural caregivers (n = 10). Thematic analysis was then conducted. Results Respondents, recruited with purposive and snowball sampling, saw hastened AD/ADRD progression in their family member(s) attributed to social isolation. For many, long-term placement was not an option for financial reasons. Respondents providing full-time caregiving depended heavily on their care recipients' financial resources for basic living expenses, reporting placement in long-term care would leave them at risk of homelessness. Black caregivers expressed an "unspoken" cultural taboo about placement. For all, caregiver disability was the only impetus for placement. Respondents in rural communities more often reported faith-based gratefulness, moments of joy, relational harmony resulting from "being stuck together", and less availability of resources allowing virtual support. Urban caregivers reported more social isolation, less awareness of resources, more intentional family member distancing, and higher pandemic-related distress. Implications: These findings have broad economic, social, policy, research, and practice implications.

that COPE effects were statistically significantly positive on both outcomes for females (both p<.05) but on neither outcome for males. Controlling for sex, we also found positive COPE effects on both outcomes for daughters (both p=.03) but on neither outcome for spouses or sons. For perceived well-being, we found positive COPE effects for White (p<.001) but not for Black caregivers. For distress, we found positive COPE effects for caregivers living apart (p=0.03) but not for those living together with people with dementia. Findings suggest that male, Black, and co-residing caregivers may need more support from COPE, and more broadly demonstrate the value of subgroup analyses in offering greater precision when embedding nonpharmacological interventions in effectiveness trials.

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN CAREGIVING PRACTICES AND MARITAL RELATIONSHIPS OF SANDWICH GENERATION COUPLES IN MUMBAI
SRUTHI ANILKUMAR HEMALATHA, SEKHER T.V., and NAWAJ SARIF, International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India Over the next few decades, the most important demographic trend for the Asia Pacific region will be population aging. The increasing aging population in India and the fact that the economic dependence of the older adults is high and the cost of education and child care is on the rise pose serious challenges to generations of individuals and couples who are expected to take care of both their children and their parents. This study's primary objective is to comprehensively understand the effects of giving care to their children and their parents on various aspects of the life of sandwich generation couples. The study uses primary data of 300 multigenerational households and 100 two-generation/one-generation households in Mumbai. Specifically, the study attempts to understand the effect of giving care to two generations on the marital relationship of the caregiving couples. Additionally, the study also explores gender differences in caregiving practices. Results from bivariate and multivariate analyses show that providing simultaneous care to two generations significantly impacts the marital relationship of the sandwiched couples as opposed to couples staying in one/two-generation households. Results also show considerable gender differences in caregiving roles and time spent on caregiving. Women spend more time assisting in household activities, while men are more likely to provide monetary support. Thus, extensive research on the sandwich generation in India is necessary to ensure the socio-economic well-being of the couples, the welfare of their children and parents, and the physical and psychosocial health of these couples.

THIS TOO SHALL PASS: WEATHERING THE STORM AS OLDER FEMALE FAMILY CAREGIVERS FOR THOSE WITH AD/ADRD DURING COVID-19
Candace Harrington 1 , and Dean Witt 2 , 1. University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, United States, 2. University of Louisville, Harrodsburg, Kentucky, United States Background: Older female caregivers of persons with AD/ADRD are under-represented, under-reported, and understudied. Purpose: This qualitative study aimed to understand how COVID-19 affects older female caregivers' lived experience, ongoing capacity, and willingness to provide care for their loved one(s) with AD/ADRD. Specific Aims: Aim 1: Explicate older female caregivers' lived experience in the context of caring for family members with AD/ADRD during COVID-19. Aim 2: Elucidate how COVID-19 affected older female caregivers' relationships with their family members with AD/ ADRD. Method: 172 units of meaning were extracted from 327 pages of transcripts and 972 minutes of interviews with urban (n = 10) and rural caregivers (n = 10). Thematic analysis was then conducted.
Results: Respondents, recruited with purposive and snowball sampling, saw hastened AD/ADRD progression in their family member(s) attributed to social isolation. For many, long-term placement was not an option for financial reasons. Respondents providing full-time caregiving depended heavily on their care recipients' financial resources for basic living expenses, reporting placement in long-term care would leave them at risk of homelessness. Black caregivers expressed an "unspoken" cultural taboo about placement. For all, caregiver disability was the only impetus for placement. Respondents in rural communities more often reported faith-based gratefulness, moments of joy, relational harmony resulting from "being stuck together", and less availability of resources allowing virtual support. Urban Innovation in Aging, 2022, Vol. 6, No. S1 caregivers reported more social isolation, less awareness of resources, more intentional family member distancing, and higher pandemic-related distress. Implications: These findings have broad economic, social, policy, research, and practice implications.

USE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS TO SUPPORT CAREGIVING BY FAMILY CAREGIVERS OF OLDER ADULTS
Rahul Malhotra, Nur Diyana Azman, Veronica Shimin Goh, and Abhijit Visaria, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore Caregiving-relevant information and services are increasingly available online. Greater understanding of the extent and purpose of their use by family caregivers of older adults and specific caregiver sub-groups that are more or less likely to use them can inform both policies related to and the content of such solutions. We investigated the extent to which family caregivers of older persons in Singapore use digital technology solutions such as the internet and apps, and the purposes for which they use them. Information on digital device use was collected from 278 caregivers. Of them, 139 caregivers gave detailed information on how they had used the internet or apps to support caregiving in the last six months. Most (89%) caregivers used digital devices regularly (mostly smartphones (87%)). Digital device use was associated with caregiver age, ethnicity and education. Common generic online activities included sending instant messages (77%) and surfing websites (64%). While 54% had used the internet to support caregiving (most common purpose: search for information on care-recipient's health conditions), 43% had used apps to do so (most common purpose: coordinate care with family members or other caregivers). Such use was associated with caregiver age, education and care-recipient health. While use of digital devices and generic online activities are common among caregivers, their use of the internet or apps to support caregiving is less common. Information-seeking and coordination are indicative of avenues in which digital technology solutions can complement 'physical' channels of communication and support with and for caregivers, and be further expanded.

LUCIDITY IN DEMENTIA: EMERGING CONCEPTS AND DATA
Chair: Andrea Gilmore-Bykovskyi Discussant: Basil Eldadah Episodes of lucidity among people with advanced Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease related dementias (AD/ADRD), reportedly evidenced by an unexpected return of meaningful communication or connection, are an area of growing interest. Event transient recovery of abilities in the setting of advanced AD/ADRD are potentially significant for caregivers and the person living with dementia; as well as for shaping our understanding of AD/ADRD more broadly. Despite the potential significance of these events, existing evidence is largely comprised of anecdotal reports and retrospective/case reports. Recently, the National Institute on Aging funded six studies to advance empiric studies on episodes of lucidity in advanced AD/ADRD. This symposium will provide an update on progress and findings across these funded studies. The first presentation focuses on acceptability and feasibility of a prospective observation study focused on characterizing potential observable indicators of episodes of lucidity in individuals with advanced AD/ADRD near end of life encompassing audiovisual observation, informant field interviews and case reviews. The second presentation will provide an overview of a 3-phase mixed methods study focused on development of preliminary types of lucid episodes. Collectively, presentations demonstrate a variety of approaches to investigating episodes of lucidity and shed light on emergent methods for operationalizing these events. Implications of various conceptualizations for EL and conceptual decisions across studies will be reviewed. Episodes of lucidity (EL) among individuals with advanced dementia, which are predominantly reported near end of life, are clinically and potentially epidemiologically significant events. Audiovisual observation offers a valuable approach to studying EL, providing opportunities to characterize verbal/non-verbal features of EL as well as their surrounding contexts. Approaches to capturing and characterizing audiovisual data and potential verbal/non-verbal indicators of EL near end of life are lacking. We determined the acceptability and feasibility of a multi-faceted observational study protocol among people with advanced dementia near end of life incorporating longitudinal audiovisual observation, informant field interviews/logs, and case review of high likelihood EL events. Five eligible individuals were enrolled, yielding a 100% enrollment/retention rate, 54 observations/140 hours of observation across participants. Task load and usability ratings indicate study procedures with iterative refinements were feasible; surveys and qualitative appraisal from participants and staff endorse high rates of acceptability and feasibility.