# Health Disparities in Alzheimer's Disease: Intergenerational and Sociocultural Contributors to Dementia Literacy in Immigrant Latinx Families

> **NIH NIH SC3** · QUEENS COLLEGE · 2022 · $115,500

## Abstract

Project Summary
Hispanic immigrant elders are at greater risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias
(ADRD) and carry a disproportionately heavier burden of related complications. The proposed
study ultimately aims to reduce this burden by mapping the architecture of dementia literacy (i.e.,
knowledge about the causes, treatments and attitudes towards the disease) and identifying
culturally-specific disease perceptions that can be utilized for future interventional studies.
Currently, standard early ADRD disease detection lacks adequate validity for Latinx immigrant
elders due to the absence of evidence-based science that take culture and social disparities into
account. Through a cross-sectional design purposed to supply pilot data for future hypothesis-
driven intervention studies in other immigrant groups, the proposed study will significantly expand
the current dementia literacy knowledge base in immigrants. A novel, family-based recruitment
method, centered on college students with immigrant grandparents, will be applied to enroll 200
Latinx adults for the collection of questionnaires and survey-based assessments of dementia
literacy and a comprehensive panel of sociocultural factors such as acculturation, immigration
experience and degree of English/Spanish language proficiencies. The proposed research
environment is ideally suited for the success of this proposal. Queens College is a Hispanic
Serving Institution and the surrounding community is home to the largest concentration of
immigrants in New York State. The Principle Investigator has a history of cultural cognitive
investigations in a number of diseased states, including dementia, and will utilize the proposed
study to propel her independence at Queens College. Co-investigator, Dr. Monica Rivera-Mindt,
is an expert in Latinx health disparities, funded to complete research on dementia risk in HIV+
Latinx elders and has a history of successful collaboration with the applicant.
.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10425280
- **Project number:** 5SC3GM141996-02
- **Recipient organization:** QUEENS COLLEGE
- **Principal Investigator:** DESIREE A BYRD
- **Activity code:** SC3 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $115,500
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-06-10 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10425280

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10425280, Health Disparities in Alzheimer's Disease: Intergenerational and Sociocultural Contributors to Dementia Literacy in Immigrant Latinx Families (5SC3GM141996-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10425280. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*