The overall goals of the Education and Information Transfer Core are to disseminate advances in dementia research through community-based outreach programs and state-of-the- art educational materials and facilitate research training in dementia to expand the number and expertise of professionals able to address the needs of growing numbers of dementia patients and their families. Activities designed to address these goals will ultimately enhance the early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with dementia and increase awareness of the magnitude of dementia as a public health issue. In collaboration with local chapters of the Alzheimer's Association, the core will develop, implement, and evaluate public health communication campaigns to increase knowledge and awareness of dementia in selected communities in Michigan. A process evaluation of these campaigns will inform a model information dissemination strategy for communities throughout the state. The Core will disseminate advances in dementia research, thereby improving care and services for patients and their families through the design, implementation, and evaluation of outreach programs to the community. Outreach programs are an important component of a health care delivery system that is responsive to the needs of underserved minority and rural communities. Proposed activities related to this aim represent an enhancement of the evaluation component of the MADRC's existing outreach efforts to two rural and two urban communities in the state. The Core will develop, evaluate, and disseminate state-of- the-art educational materials and training procedures designed for each of the Cores of the MADRC and health professionals throughout the State of Michigan. In addition to a tri-annual newsletter, training videos, and print materials, the Core will sponsor two annual conferences for health professionals. The first conference will focus on the assessment and management of dementia and the second will provide training for autopsy procedures. The Core will facilitate interdisciplinary research training in dementia among physicians and health professionals, predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows, and public health students. Core personnel will provide consultation on dementia to be incorporated into the Medical School Curriculum. Information will be disseminated about research opportunities at the MADRC to personnel affiliated with on-campus interdisciplinary gerontology training grants. One field placement intern completing a master's degree in public health will receive training in educational approaches to dementia each summer.
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