Better ways to measure Alzheimer's and related dementias in health records
Official title: Core C - Measurement and Methods in ADRD and Racial Disparities Research
Funded at National Bureau of Economic Research · NIH-11195557 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project creates improved methods to find and describe Alzheimer's and related dementias in Medicare and other health records so patients and caregivers are counted more accurately.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | National Bureau of Economic Research NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Cambridge, United States) |
| Project start | February 1, 1997 |
| Project end | August 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $470,792 |
| NIH project number | 5P01AG005842-36 |
| Project ID | NIH-11195557 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias whose care appears in Medicare or other large insurance records, and their family caregivers, are the focus of this work.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not represented in the databases used (for example, younger uninsured individuals or those whose dementia is not recorded in claims) are unlikely to be represented or to benefit directly.
What this research studies
Researchers are improving how dementia symptoms, diagnoses, and stages are measured in Medicare and other large health databases. They will work to identify patient and provider demographic details and to link people with likely cohabitating caregivers. The team begins by applying current best practices and then develops state-of-the-art measurement improvements over time, applying these methods to national CMS data. A community advisory panel and workshops will bring practical care experience into the work and help share the new methods with other researchers.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could lead to more accurate tracking of who has dementia and better targeting of support and services to patients and caregivers.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies have used Medicare and claims data to identify dementia with mixed accuracy, and this project builds on those methods to improve reliability.
Where this research is happening
-
National Bureau of Economic Research
Cambridge, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Simon, Kosali Ilayperuma — National Bureau of Economic Research
- Study coordinator: Simon, Kosali Ilayperuma
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.