Wabanaki NARCH

OVERALL: ABSTRACT The number of American Indians aged 65 and older is expected to triple to 1,624,000 by 2050, while the number of those aged 85 and older will increase 7-fold to 300,000. While welcome, these statistics raise concerns about proportionate increases in health conditions associated with aging – especially Alzheimer’s disease and related

dementias. This worrisome confluence of population growth, emerging needs, and high risk, combined with the widely recognized limitations of available health data on American Indian elders, motivates us to propose the Wabanaki Native American Research Center for Health, a partnership between Wabanaki Public Health and the

Institute for Research and Education to Advance Community Health at Washington State University. Wabanaki Public Health is a tribal public health district serving the 4 federally recognized tribes of Maine. Collectively known as the Wabanaki tribes, the tribes include the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians,

Penobscot Nation, and Passamaquoddy Tribe. Establishing the Wabanaki Native American Research Center for Health to address elder health is critically important for 3 reasons. First, elder health is a high priority for Wabanaki Public Health. Second, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and mild cognitive impairment are

leading causes of morbidity and mortality, yet nothing is known about the prevalence of these conditions or their economic impact among American Indians in the northeastern US. Third, Wabanaki Public Health desires to strengthen its research capacity and infrastructure as a necessary foundation for sustainable research.

Therefore, our overall Specific Aims are to: 1) Strengthen collaborations between Wabanaki Public Health, a public health district serving American Indians people in Maine and Washington State University to improve the research and service capacities of Wabanaki Public Health through 1 Research Project, 2 Capacity Building

Projects, and an Administrative Core; 2) Estimate the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia and mild cognitive impairment among Wabanaki tribal members aged 55 and older, as well as the current and future direct and indirect costs associated with these conditions; 3) Build research capacity among Wabanaki

Public Health staff and Wabanaki undergraduate students through a year-long tailored research methods course and year-long student internships at Wabanaki Public Health; and 4) Extend tribal self-governance to encompass the regulation of scientific endeavors and to build research capacity by laying the foundation for a Research

Review Board. The Wabanaki NARCH is the first in the northeastern US since the program was founded in 2000. It will fill striking gaps in our knowledge of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and mild cognitive impairment among American Indian elders. It will also promote and expand the research and infrastructure

capabilities of Wabanaki Public Health, a tribal public health district that is uniquely positioned to assume a leadership role in ameliorating health disparities experienced by Wabanaki and other northeastern tribal communities.