# Supplement to Recruitment Innovations to Enhance Diversity in AD Research

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2020 · $114,125

## Abstract

Project Abstract
Despite experiencing Alzheimer’s-related health problems at a disproportionate rate, African
Americans are consistently and severely underrepresented in Alzheimer’s disease and related
disorders (ADRD) research projects. Insufficient enrollment of African Americans in this line of
research is a nationally-recognized problem. This is highly concerning not only because of the
need for unbiased, representative samples in basic science and clinical research, but also
because involving persons from underrepresented minority groups is crucial to advancing our
understanding of, and ultimately combating, health disparities. In response to PAR-15-349 “Health
Disparities and Alzheimer’s Disease”, we propose to develop and evaluate a novel strategy that
uses a storytelling campaign to enhance recruitment of African American adults into research at
the University of Pittsburgh Alzheimer Disease Research Center. In Specific Aim 1, we will build
on our promising pilot work to refine and evaluate community members’ acceptance of a
storytelling strategy for communicating Alzheimer’s-related research participation experiences of
African Americans in mid and late life. The storytelling strategy will highlight African Americans’
research participation narratives, as derived from a series of ethnographic interviews and told
using short videos. In Specific Aim 2, we will evaluate the effect of this storytelling strategy on
recruitment of African Americans into ADRD research. Videos developed in Aim 1 will be
incorporated into all existing ADRC recruitment efforts, ranging from community events to social
media strategies. The primary outcome for Aim 2 will be the proportion of African Americans
recruited to the ADRC Clinical Core over an 18 month period, with the preceding 18 month period
serving as the comparator. Specific Aim 3 will use path analysis modeling to explore the
mechanisms by which a storytelling strategy increases enrollment of African Americans into
ADRD research in general, and into a specific study designed to address health disparities.
Realizing the goals of this study will increase racial and ethnic diversity in ADRD research at a
leading NIA-funded ADRC and ultimately, help to reduce cognitive health disparities amongst
African Americans. Findings from this study will directly inform best practices for increasing
diversity within the national AD Centers network, with significant implications for a range of
underrepresented populations. Furthermore, these findings will also have applications in other
disease contexts in which scientific progress is constrained by insufficient recruitment of persons
from underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9929309
- **Project number:** 3R01AG054518-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** JENNIFER Hagerty LINGLER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $114,125
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2017-08-01 → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9929309

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9929309, Supplement to Recruitment Innovations to Enhance Diversity in AD Research (3R01AG054518-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9929309. Licensed CC0.

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