Faith-Based

The Massachusetts Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (MADRC) and the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment (CART) maintain a roster of community educators and MADRC/CART faculty and staff who are available to make educational presentations. Customized educational programs can be arranged. Programs offered in Boston and surround communities cover such topics as normal versus abnormal memory in aging, the importance of early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and related dementias, prevention...

Mistrust of medical research is an important barrier hindering recruitment in African-American communities. In this study, researchers conducted in-depth, face-to-face interviews with leaders from four African-American churches about their experience with and barriers to hospice and palliative care research. Mistrust based on experience with previous researchers emerged as a common theme. Findings suggested that researchers who wish to conduct successful studies in African-American religious...

This study sought to develop and test a community-developed, faith-based intervention and evaluate its potential to increase the number of older African Americans in clinical research. The authors worked with six churches to enroll at least 210 people. Those at the intervention group received three educational sessions on the role of clinical trials in addressing health disparity topics, and those in the comparison group completed surveys at the same time. All participants received ongoing...

This editorial pertains to African American caregivers of people with dementia, specifically those with type 2 diabetes. The author reviews barriers to recruitment for this population and the experience of church-based recruiting of caregivers age 55 and older with diabetes who also care for a person with dementia. Important factors to success included a respected gatekeeper and relationship building. Barriers included the religious interpretation of dementia behaviors that produced stigma among...

A clinical trial evaluated the effectiveness of a church-based educational intervention aimed at improving African Americans' participation in clinical trials. A total of 221 subjects age 50 and older were recruited from six predominantly African American churches in the Atlanta area. Some subjects attended three educational sessions, while others (the controls) completed questionnaires. Subjects' intention to join a clinical trial was measured at baseline and after 3 and 6 months. Researchers...

This toolkit, originally developed by the African American Dementia Outreach Partnership and now distributed by the Balm in Gilead’s National Brain Health Center for African Americans, contains many resources for caregivers and families.

This 72-page manual shares information learned during 4 years of a national grant to build awareness and support related to Alzheimer's disease in the Lexington/Bluegrass area in Kentucky.

The Penn Memory Center’s coordinator for diversity research composed a template for emails to be sent individually to community leaders in the African-American communities of Philadelphia. The message describes the purpose and activities of the Penn Center and its community outreach plan. A list of organizations with which the center hoped to collaborate was included. The message concluded with a request to meet so that the coordinator could obtain community input on the research recruitment...

Wayne State University, University of Michigan, and Michigan State University provide the faculty who jointly lead the Healthier Black Elders Center (HBEC). Faculty leaders, staff, and the Community Advisory Board members work together to improve the health of older African Americans in Detroit through a combination of education and research.

The Wake Forest School of Medicine Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center designed artwork for printing on church hand fans to promote Alzheimer’s disease research. The catch phrase, “Research brings Knowledge. Knowledge brings Answers. Answers bring Hope!” was developed to demystify research for people living in rural North Carolina.