The United States has invested significant resources through innovative research to address the profound effects of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias (ADRD) on families and society, but older adults from historically underrepresented minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged adults (herein, older minorities) have not experienced the full benefits of scientific advances from that research. For example, older minorities live more years with undiagnosed disorders, endure a higher number of functional disabilities, have fewer treatment options, and experience higher levels of stigma. Hindering innovation and dissemination of approaches to ADRD health disparities research is the lack of a highly trained, interdisciplinary scientific workforce that addresses the full range of biological, biomedical, behavioral, and health sciences supported by NIH. This two-installment conference series will bring together emerging investigators from across the US to address the National Alzheimer Project Act (NAPA) 2017 goal of prevention and effective treatment of ADRD by 2025 as well as the National Institute on Aging Health Disparities Framework and NAPA's strategy (1.B) to address health disparities that influence ADRD health outcomes among older minorities. An essential feature of the series will be to engage community stakeholders (persons with ADRD, family caregivers, providers) in multiple aspects of the conference design, planning and implementation including the selection of scholars, providing feedback on conference presentations, and dissemination. Planning, implementation, participation and evaluation of the conference will incorporate individuals from historically underrepresented groups.
The aims of the conference series are: (1) to examine existing research on ADRD health disparities and older minorities particularly in the epidemiology, etiology, identification, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of ADRD in the US; (2) to examine existing research studies intended to address multi-level factors that influence the health of persons with ADRD and family caregivers from diverse communities; (3) to develop the research careers of a diverse, highly trained, interdisciplinary team-based scientific workforce specializing in the diversity of experiences of older minorities and their families affected by ADRD; (4) to generate highly tailored, innovative, rigorous, team-based scientific proposals lead by the scholars cohort on ADRD health disparities; (5) to facilitate intensive mentoring and early engagement of emerging scholars in ADRD disparities research using a multi-mentor, multi-disciplinary team science approach; and (6) to create opportunities for community stakeholders, the scientific community, NIH directors and/or program officers to leverage collaborations in multi-investigator and multi-disciplinary projects.
/Relevance: This 3-day conference will (1) address environmental, sociocultural, behavioral, and biological disparities in Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias that affect millions of older minorities and their family caregivers; and (2) serve as an incubator of scientific network of interdisciplinary scholars specializing in rigorous team- based approaches to close the ADRD health disparities gap.
