Regenstrief researcher co-leading $16M Alzheimer’s research program
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
An Indiana University and Regenstrief Institute researcher is co-leading an expected $16 million program to study the treatment and outcomes of patients with Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
Kosali Simon, a professor at IU Bloomington’s Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and a Regenstrief research scientist, will focus on identifying and addressing barriers to equitable and effective care for this growing population of patients, Regenstrief announced Friday.
Simon will co-lead the five-year research initiative with Katherine Baicker, University of Chicago provost and a leading health care policy expert. The effort is funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging program.
“These are very complex chronic conditions that involve a lot of burden on families,” Simon said.
Simon said diagnosis often happens in the emergency room. “It could be during an acute event that cognitive tests are administered, and a diagnosis is rendered. But we know symptoms start much earlier,” she said.
For example, she said one goal is to better coordinate care between caregivers, physicians and others so patients in early stages of impairment can live in their communities longer. The research will study the experiences of patients from underserved populations, looking at factors including language barriers or the effect of patients seeing providers of concordant, or matching, ethnic or racial backgrounds.
The researchers will use decades of Medicare data from rural and urban areas to compare ambulatory care settings, such as doctor’s offices, where patients may choose providers, to emergency departments, where provider assignments are more random.
Regenstrief research scientists Nicole Fowler and Dr. Jennifer Carnahan will work with Simon as co-investigators.
The researchers will collaborate with the IU School of Medicine, Regenstrief’s IU Center for Aging Research, and the National Bureau of Economic Research. The initiative also will involve research at additional institutions across the nation.
Simon said the researchers would disclose their findings in various ways, including scientific journal articles, research meetings and presentations.