Core E: University of Kentucky Alzheimer's Disease Core Center

Project Summary/Abstract: Outreach, Recruitment and Engagement Core The Outreach, Recruitment and Engagement (ORE) Core plays a central role in achieving UK-ADRC goals by functioning as a key link between the Center and the local and state communities. ORE Core programs and activities have created and will maintain an educated local community eager to receive updated information on AD and to participate in our Center’s research. Through ORE Core efforts, the UK-ADRC will continue to work with both the Commonwealth of Kentucky and UK partners in directing state and institutional responses to meeting dementia health care needs and increasing health literacy in the elderly. ORE Core activities include recruitment and retention of diverse participants into a longitudinal cohort with annual clinical examinations and brain donation upon death. Other activities involve the development and testing of innovative outreach and engagement activities in the community to increase awareness of AD/ADRD plus the importance of research and research participation. Over the past five years, the ORE Core has taken the lead in developing innovative partnerships and products to support research participation by African Americans, the largest minority group in Kentucky. We will continue to emphasize recruitment and retention of research participants at the earliest stages of the cognitive continuum (Cognitively Normal and MCI). These efforts involve engaging these participants in the ADRC longitudinal cohort, as well as activities to enhance agreement to brain donation, willingness to engage in affiliated clinical studies and therapeutic trials, and donation of antemortem biospecimens. In the next cycle, we will maintain and further build on these efforts and partnerships through the following specific aims: Aim 1. Recruit and retain participants into our longitudinal cohort, affiliated research, and NIA initiatives, focusing on improving recruitment and retention of African Americans and other URGs. Aim 2. Increase community awareness of AD and ADRD through the promotion of health literacy that further enhances recruitment and retention of minority participants in research. Aim 3. Evaluate the effectiveness of our activities with both qualitative and quantitative metrics. Aim 4. Support the UK-ADRC Cores to maximize national and international collaborations. The ORE Core plays a critical role in the UK-ADRC and works closely with the other Cores to support recruitment and retention activities for research protocols, clinical trials, and national initiatives; increase community awareness of AD and maintain a strong presence in the African-American community; and support outreach initiatives for the lay community in collaboration with key partners. These functions are vital to the UK- ADRC mission to catalyze outstanding and innovative research, outreach, education, and clinical programs.