North Texas ADRC - Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement Core

Ut Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas TX

Investigators

Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract The Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement (ORE) Core of the North Texas Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (NT-ADRC) will serve as the central hub for community outreach, education, and engagement about Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), as well as the recruitment and retention of participants of diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds in ADRD-related research. With a multidisciplinary team of investigators possessing a wide range of expertise, the ORE Core is well-positioned to serve an essential role within the NT-ADRC by: 1) fostering existing and building new partnerships and engagement with the North Texas community, 2) supporting and facilitating recruitment of participants from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds into ongoing and future research studies within and outside of NT- ADRC, and 3) engaging and supporting caregivers of persons with ADRD in ADRC-related education and research. This is particularly important as the population of North Texas continues to grow and is home to significant numbers of racially and ethnically minoritized persons who are more likely to be diagnosed with ADRD in their lifetimes but are less likely to participate in ADRD-related research. Approximately 50% of residents in North Texas have a racial or ethnic background other than Non-Hispanic White, and those who identify as Black/African American or Hispanic are more likely to have cognitive impairment and ADRD compared to White individuals. The ORE Core will partner with clinic sites (UT Southwestern and Parkland Hospital), other UT Southwestern Centers (the CTSA-sponsored Office of Community Health & Research Engagement) and NT-ADRC Cores (Clinical, Neuropathology, etc.) to continue and enhance current efforts to engage, recruit, and retain research participants for ADRD-related research, and it will employ innovative approaches to conduct outreach, engagement, education, and recruitment efforts with members of the North Texas community. The ORE Core will establish a community advisory board made up of a diverse group of community leaders with personal and/or professional experience in the ADRD space, and will combat caregiver invisibility by engaging ADRD caregivers in well-established, evidence-based research, education, and support programs. The ORE Core will also continue to utilize existing recruitment and retention methods and expand its reach by instituting novel outreach and recruitment strategies, while using systematic approaches to evaluate the effectiveness of all ORE Core outreach, recruitment, and engagement efforts.