# Leveraging the national infrastructure of trusted organizations to increase representation of Latinos in dementia research

> **NIH NIH R24** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2021 · $847,349

## Abstract

Abstract
The underrepresentation of Latinos in dementia research is a public health issue because Latinos are one and
a half times as likely to have Alzheimer's disease than Whites, yet less then 1% of study participants in clinical
trials on dementia are Latino. This underrepresentation reduces the generalizability of findings and hinders the
understanding of the mechanisms of dementia, further widening health disparities. Specific efforts to recruit
Latinos in dementia research have leveraged community engagement strategies involving partnerships
between researchers and community-based organizations (CBOs). The involvement of trusted CBOs was
critical to foster trust in researchers. However, community engagement strategies take a long time to develop
and are limited to specific geographic areas (e.g., cities). A missed opportunity is the fact that many trusted
CBOs have national reach. Partnering with trusted CBOs that have national reach could potentially provide the
infrastructure needed to rapidly implement scalable recruitment strategies nationwide. To leverage the
infrastructures of trusted CBOs, we propose to establish a consortium driven by Latino stakeholders and
involving national-reach CBOs that are trusted within Latino communities. In preliminary studies we already
identified the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN) and the Alzheimer's Association (ALZ) as
relevant CBOs with national reach, that are well-trusted in Latino communities. In this new paradigm, the
synergistic endorsements of the NAHN and ALZ will foster Latinos' trust and participation in studies supported
by the consortium. We aim to establish a Consortium in 4 sites of a multi-site NIA-funded clinical trial drawing
upon the expertise of our multidisciplinary research team, which includes collaborators from the NAHN and the
ALZ, a Latino messaging designer and a Latino organizational consultant, plus researchers with expertise in
implementation science and community engagement strategies for recruitment in Latino communities. We will
use the Collective Impact conceptual model and the Ford et al. recruitment framework to guide our work. Our
research has 3 specific aims: 1) Finalize facilitators and barriers to establishing the recruitment consortium, 2)
Build and finalize the resources of the recruitment consortium and 3) Establish and evaluate the Consortium
recruitment intervention in a large clinical trial. The proposed project will help accelerate needed participation
of Latinos in dementia research. Its approach can be replicated in other sites nationwide and adapted to
accelerate recruitment of other racial/ethnic minorities and other underrepresented groups into dementia
research and in other domains.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10170049
- **Project number:** 1R24AG071456-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** CARL V HILL
- **Activity code:** R24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $847,349
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-06-01 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10170049

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10170049, Leveraging the national infrastructure of trusted organizations to increase representation of Latinos in dementia research (1R24AG071456-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10170049. Licensed CC0.

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