Better primary care for older adults with Alzheimer's and related dementias
Official title: High-Quality Primary Care for Older Adults with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: A National Mixed Methods Study
Funded at Dartmouth College · NIH-11176914 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project explores how older adults with Alzheimer's and related dementias get primary care and what helps clinics deliver better care.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Dartmouth College NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Hanover, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2001 |
| Project end | July 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $336,175 |
| NIH project number | 5P01AG019783-23 |
| Project ID | NIH-11176914 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are older U.S. adults diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias—particularly Medicare beneficiaries who receive care in U.S. primary care practices.
✕Less likely to help
People without dementia, individuals under typical Medicare age, or anyone who receives care entirely outside U.S. primary care settings would be unlikely to benefit directly.
What this research studies
From a patient's perspective, the team links national records and doctor surveys to understand how primary care works for people with Alzheimer's and related dementias. They combine a national dataset of U.S. primary care practice ownership and staffing (2015–2024) with Medicare claims and surveys of practices done in 2017 and 2022. The researchers will track trends in access to primary and relevant specialty care over time, including changes since 2020, and compare different states, health systems, and practice types. By comparing clinics that have adopted care-improvement initiatives with those that have not, they hope to pinpoint policies or practice features that make care better for patients like me.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could guide policies and clinic practices that make it easier for people with Alzheimer's and related dementias to get timely, higher-quality primary care.
How similar studies have gone: Researchers have previously used Medicare claims and practice surveys to study access and quality of care, but linking a national primary-care practice dataset across 2015–2024 makes this effort more comprehensive and relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Dartmouth College
Hanover, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Fisher, Elliott S — Dartmouth College
- Study coordinator: Fisher, Elliott S
Related research
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.