# Project 4 - HAALSI National

> **NIH NIH P01** · HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · 2024 · $1,014,003

## Abstract

Project 4: HAALSI National—Abstract
We propose to add a nationally representative cohort to the existing Agincourt sample of the Health and
Aging in Africa: Longitudinal Study in South Africa (HAALSI) Program, allowing us to conduct the first
nationally representative study of cognitive function and dementia in South Africa. Our broad array of health
and socio-economic measures will be collected from a national cohort, making ours the first study from a Sub-
Saharan African country to be included in the international family of Health and Retirement Studies (HRS) and
allowing comparative research between HAALSI and HRS sister studies. We will conduct a national
Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) study to establish a reliable algorithm to give estimates of
mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia prevalence. We will measure the prevalence of cognitive
impairment and dementia in South Africa and examine how it relates to socioeconomic status (SES). We will
determine how the cognition-SES gradient varies for different measures of SES and investigate the underlying
reasons for any differences. A goal of our study is to produce and quickly disseminate data for public use by
researchers both in South Africa and internationally. A major advantage of our study will be our ability to
expand the HAALSI Program’s breadth and depth, by combining the results of the national survey with the
more detailed community results from the HAALSI Agincourt cohort and the detailed cognition studies
embedded in that cohort. In Aim 1, we will recruit participants and collect the first wave of data for the HAALSI
National cohort, a nationally representative longitudinal cohort of 4500 people 40 years of age and older (and
their partners), to study healthy aging and cognition in South Africa. The detailed HCAP battery is administered
to a subcohort which allows us to derive predictive algorithms for ascertainment of MCI and dementia in the full
National cohort. In Aim 2, we will estimate the rate of cognitive impairment in our National cohort and
investigate how cognitive ability varies by SES in South Africa. In Aim 3, we will study the generalizability of
estimates of the determinants of cognitive decline, MCI, and dementia from the Agincourt community to the
National level and pilot extending the survey to additional communities in the South African Population
Research Infrastructure Network (SAPRIN). Impact: This project will extend the HAALSI Program to the
national level in South Africa to produce insights that will inform policymaking and the development of
interventions to support healthy aging.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10843317
- **Project number:** 5P01AG041710-10
- **Recipient organization:** HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
- **Principal Investigator:** David J Canning
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $1,014,003
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-09-15 → 2028-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10843317

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10843317, Project 4 - HAALSI National (5P01AG041710-10). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10843317. Licensed CC0.

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