Provider-Patient Demographic Harmony and Its Effect on Care for Alzheimer’s Patients
Official title: Project 2 - Provider-Patient/Caregiver Demographic Concordance in Health Care Systems: Their Influence on Health and Healthcare Outcomes for Populations with ADRD
Funded at National Bureau of Economic Research · NIH-11420403 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether patients with Alzheimer’s and related dementias have better health outcomes when their doctors share similar backgrounds, using decades of Medicare data and natural variations in where patients meet doctors.
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 | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $255,149 |
| NIH project number | 5P01AG005842-37 |
| Project ID | NIH-11420403 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates include individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias who receive care in emergency departments or primary care settings and whose providers’ demographics may align or differ from theirs.
✕Less likely to help
Patients in settings or regions where provider–patient demographic concordance has no impact on outcomes may see little to no direct benefit.
What this research studies
If you or a loved one has ADRD, this work will analyze how matching demographics between patients and clinicians in emergency and primary care settings might influence things like hospital visits, staying healthy at home, and medication use. Researchers will combine physician background data with Medicare records to see if harmony or discordance in age, gender, race/ethnicity, or other traits affects trust and outcomes. The study uses quasi-experimental methods to infer whether any observed effects are causal and how they change over time. Findings could help design policies or practices that improve care coordination for ADRD patients in both rural and urban communities.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Understanding demographic concordance could lead to improved patient experience and better health outcomes for people with ADRD if matching providers and patients proves beneficial.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work using large administrative data has shown mixed results; this project aims to establish causal links in a new context with ADRD.
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
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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.