ORE Core

ABSTRACT – OUTREACH, RECRUITMENT, AND ENGAGEMENT CORE The Duke/UNC ADRC Outreach, Recruitment and Engagement (ORE) Core supports the goals of our proposed Duke/UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) by leveraging a strong foundation of existing collaborative Duke-UNC programs promoting outreach and education in the community in order to facilitate research recruitment into the ADRC and its supported projects, with a particular focus on the enfranchisement of clinically underserved groups in our region. Our three aims are to 1) Facilitate recruitment and retention of cognitively normal and cognitively impaired participants into the Clinical Core and the research it supports for the ADRC; 2) Provide education and outreach to the local community including expanded outreach to under- represented groups; and 3) Promote public awareness of brain health and encourage community advocacy for research on Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias (AD+ADRD). In order to meet these aims, we will work closely with our existing African American Community Outreach Program, the multi-university North Carolina Registry for Brain Health, and the Duke Dementia Family Support Program, along with developing and leveraging partnerships with UNC’s award-winning statewide network of primary care centers and the Carolina Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program. By implementing a personalized-VIP approach with each potential ADRC participant, and through an array of specialized programs, such as the Young Ambassadors, designed to heighten community engagement and participation by training community volunteers to serve as health system navigators and educators, we aim to serve as a major provider of clinical resources and education as well as a hub for AD+ADRD research in North Carolina.