# VARC Core

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2022 · $182,040

## Abstract

Project Summary: The Vulnerable Aging Recruitment and Retention Core (VARC)
Older adults are vastly underrepresented in research. This underrepresentation is even more pronounced for
older adults with medical vulnerability (e.g., cognitive impairment and complex multi-morbidity) and/or social
vulnerability (e.g., isolation, poverty, limited literacy or homelessness). These medical and social vulnerabilities
often coexist and interact to produce profound effects on disease incidence, progression, outcomes, and
response to health interventions. Yet older adults with these vulnerabilities are often difficult to recruit and
retain, adversely affecting their representation in research and impairing our knowledge of how best to optimize
their care. The UCSF Division of Geriatrics has an international reputation for expertise in the recruitment,
retention, and protection of vulnerable older adults in research including in longitudinal cohorts and randomized
trials. In our first cycle, the UCSF Older Adults Independence Center (OAIC) greatly expanded its support of
the recruitment and retention of vulnerable older adults across UCSF. To build on this progress and meet the
increased demand for our expertise, we propose to create a dedicated core: The Vulnerable Aging
Recruitment and Retention Core (VARC). We propose the following aims:
1) Provide expert consultation for the design (e.g., pilots, longitudinal cohorts, and efficacy and pragmatic
trials) and Institutional Review Board considerations for primary data collection studies that focus on older
adults with medical and/or social vulnerabilities;
2) Support OAIC investigators on methods for recruiting, enrolling, and retaining vulnerable older adults,
including appropriate informed consent procedures and the creation of community advisory boards;
3) Establish administrative, mentorship and educational resources to train OAIC-affiliated researchers and staff
concerning the logistics of recruitment, enrollment, and consent of vulnerable populations;
4) Advise on the incorporation of predictor and outcome measures of medical vulnerability (e.g., cognitive
impairment, frailty) and social vulnerability (e.g., health literacy, poverty, social isolation, etc.) in collaboration
with the Data and Analysis Core.
5) Support development projects that create novel methods for improving recruitment and retention of
vulnerable older adults into research studies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10434053
- **Project number:** 5P30AG044281-10
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** REBECCA L SUDORE
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $182,040
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-07-15 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10434053

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10434053, VARC Core (5P30AG044281-10). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10434053. Licensed CC0.

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