Age remains the leading risk factor for the development of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders (ADRD); however, incidence, prevalence, risk factors, and clinical features can vary by race and ethnicity. Evaluating and addressing these disparities is urgent since non-Caucasian racial or ethnic groups will make up 45% of Americans ages 65+ by the year 2060. Ensuring recruitment of appropriately diverse research participants is a formidable challenge, and ADRD studies often lag behind such goals. These shortfalls are likely due to a confluence of barriers, including ?research readiness? of target populations, lack of ADRD knowledge, and associated stigma. In the Outreach Recruitment and Engagement (ORE) Core, we apply innovative strategies to achieve three overarching goals centered on (1) recruiting and retaining a well-defined cohort of research participants; (2) serving as the primary regional resource for consumable, accurate, and culturally-informed information on ADRD diagnosis, management, and research opportunities; and (3) increasing research readiness of underrepresented groups (URGs) through evidence- and experienced-based outreach and education. We share ADRD educational information and resources via our website (www.uwadrc.org), bi-annual magazine Dimensions, and monthly e-Newsletter. At the University of Washington Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, we have a special focus on American Indian / Alaska Native (AI/AN) engagement, a historically gravely overlooked URG in ADRD research efforts. Through a highly successful collaboration with Partnerships for Native Health (P4NH) at Washington State University, we will continue to improve research readiness among AI/AN elders, with emphasis on promoting brain donation. We will expand these efforts to other URGs in order to engage the local communities of color. We emphasize respectful, bidirectional relationships with our community partners while conducting the most rigorous science aligned with their priorities and comfort with research. We operate on the model of knowledge exchange, and advocate a strength-based reframing perspective to counter stigma by emphasizing social and cognitive functions that are spared in ADRD.
