We are excited to announce that NEAR (Natives Engaged in Alzheimer’s Research) – a new IREACH-led project battling disparities associated with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander groups – has received $14.6 million in funding from the National Institute on Aging.
Though highly diverse, Native and Pacific Islander populations all experience high rates of conditions such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes and low socioeconomic status that make dementia more likely. To test interventions to improve detection and treatment of dementia, the NEAR network will rely on 8 satellite centers directed by researchers who are members of these communities, in coordination with 11 tribes, 7 urban Indian organizations, 5 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander community groups, and 6 academic institutions.
Read more about the project in the WSU Insider, the Spokesman-Review, Hawaii Public Radio, University of Hawai’i News, BYU News, and University of Miami News.