Study Term
2026 – 2027

Status
In Progress

There is persistent underrepresentation and high attrition rates in Alzheimer’s disease prevention trials, particularly among Black or African American communities. Existing recruitment efforts have shown significant loss of interest between initial community outreach and subsequent individual phone prescreening.

This study aims to create a robust registry—called the Trial-Ready Alzheimer’s Cohort Engagement Registry (TRACER)—to establish a pre-qualified cohort for future Alzheimer’s prevention trials, such as the Tau Platform Study. Researchers will recruit from established outreach programs within Black communities, leveraging collaborations between Eastern Virginia Medical School and Hampton University, a Historically Black College or University.

Participants who express interest in Alzheimer’s research will be randomized equally into either: (1) a standard one-on-one phone call for registry discussion and initial assessment or (2) invitation to a facilitated group session, held in trusted community settings (like Black churches), for a comprehensive overview and completion of the initial baseline questionnaire.

The primary outcome is the rate of successful enrollment into TRACER and readiness for future trials. Researchers will also evaluate cost-effectiveness, time and effort spent by research staff, and participant satisfaction. This pilot seeks to demonstrate that a group-based, community-trusted approach can reduce attrition, enhance representativeness and significantly improve the efficiency of building a trial-ready cohort for Alzheimer’s prevention research.