Attitudes and Perceptions of Research in Aging and Dementia in an Urban Minority Population

Article type: Short Communication

Authors: Neugroschl, Judith^{a; 1; *} | Sewell, Margaret^{a; 1} | De La Fuente, Angelica^{a; 2} | Umpierre, Mari^a | Luo, Xiaodong^a | Sano, Mary^{a; b}

Affiliations: [a] Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA | [b] James J Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Judith Neugroschl, MD, Mount Sinai Department of Psychiatry, 1 Gustave Levy Place Box 1230, New York, NY 10029, USA. Tel.: +1 212 241 8329; Fax: +1 212 996 0987; E-mail: Judith.neugroschl@mssm.edu.

Note: [1] These authors contributed equally to this work.

Note: [2] Current affiliation: Ferkauf Graduate School of Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY, USA.

Abstract: In dementia trials, minority participation is low. We assessed attitudes toward research in a community based urban poor minority sample of elderly adults attending senior center talks using the 7-item Research Attitudes Questionnaire (RAQ). Presentations on cognitive aging were given at senior centers, and 123 attendees completed the RAQ-7. On trust and safety questions, a significant minority (42–48%) responded neutrally or negatively. Encouragingly, on questions concerning the importance of research, 72–81% answered positively. More work can be done to capitalize on these findings to engage and foster trust, and this can be a focus of outreach.

Keywords: Attitude, dementia, elderly, memory, minority, research

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-151072

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 69-72, 2016