The goals of the Northwestern Education and Information Transfer Core are to conduct intramural and extramural didactic programs on AD and other dementias, to disseminate knowledge related to these diseases within the community, to coordinate patient- and family-oriented support activities, and to initiate outreach and recruitment programs targeting underserved communities. During the first 4 years of the Northwestern ADC, numerous outreach activities have been organized and have reached their objectives as indicated by ratings in standardized evaluation forms. The Education Core has produced an educational videotape addressed to minority communities, explaining the value of participation in AD-related research activities. A website run by the ADC has won 4 internet awards and receives an average of 15,000 visits per month. The intramural educational activities organized by the Education Core have kept basic scientists, clinicians, students, and fellows abreast of new developments and have promoted multidisciplinary integration and cohesiveness within the ADC. Weekly AD conferences, for example, have attracted an attendance of approximately 40 persons per session with a mixture of 40% clinicians and 60% basic scientists. During the next funding cycle, the Education Core will continue to offer underserved African-American and Hispanic communities dementia-related educational programs and the opportunity to join research projects and clinical trials. A special program will be developed to improve the dementia-related education and referral resources of primary care physicians who treat minority elderly. The scope and content of internet-based and printed educational materials for the community and special patient populations will be expanded. Patient- and family-oriented support programs and reciprocal communication channels with the community will be developed further. A major role of the Education Core will be to organize intramural education and training programs for medical students, fellows and faculty of the ADC through its CME courses for non-specialist primary providers, appreciation lunches, town hall meetings, community leadership awards, and newsletters. The Education Core will further consolidate relationships with the subjects, patients and community served by the Northwestern ADC.
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