Our proposed UIC Midwest Roybal Center for Health Promotion and Translation seeks to accelerate the translation of behavioral research interventions into practical outcomes to improve the functioning (cognitive and physical) and quality of life of older adults at risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease Related Dementias (AD/ADRD). Our work recognizes that interventions that target individuals take place in families, neighborhoods, and communities that are impacted by external factors that influence initiation and maintenance of behavior change. Our work is guided by the PRISM Framework to identify behavioral interventions that have the greatest potential for broad public health impact. Our Center will support the design and testing of principle-driven and mechanism-focused, potent and sustainable health promotion interventions that have a strong promise of progressing through the NIH Stage Model. Our renewal Center retains its current focus on designing interventions for older racial/ethnic minority adults and expands our focus to target older adults at risk of AD/ADRD with a focus on behavioral interventions that address cognitive health. This renewal application targets four thematic areas of focus: Develop and test principle driven interventions to increase physical activity (PA) among older adults at risk of ADRD, Design interventions to maintain and/or enhance cognitive function and mobility; harness technology to improve intervention scalability and fidelity; and target mechanisms of behavior change to promote and sustain behavioral and lifestyle change. These foci simultaneously will advance science in these areas and reflects areas of substantial expertise within our Roybal Center. Faculty serving on the Administrative and Behavioral Intervention Development (BID) Cores will constitute the Center’s Executive Committee. These faculty have extensive expertise related to the thematic foci of the center and are committed to assisting to fulfill the mission of the Center. These faculty have experience conducting research across all stages of the Stage Model and will work to transition promising interventions across the Stage Model as quickly as possible. The MPI’s will serve as the Administrative Core co-leads and provide oversight to and work collaboratively with the BID Core co-leads. The BID Core will provide grant funding for up to two trials per year, one solicited from all departments across UIC and other University of Illinois campuses and one solicited externally via a National competition. The overall performance of the Center will be guided by a distinguished External Advisory Committee that includes representatives from diverse academic, provider, funder, consumer, and media stakeholder groups; including health care systems and plans. Collectively our work is expected to substantially advance science in these critically important areas of focus and provide currently unavailable information about the impact of behavioral change interventions that focus on underserved older adults.
The overall goal of our Midwest Roybal Center for Health Promotion and Translation is to advance the science, translation, and practice of health promotion programs for older adults at risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) in order to improve the functioning (physical and cognitive) and quality of life of this growing segment of our population. To achieve this mission, this renewal Center will sponsor, facilitate and monitor the development and testing of interventions that will advance scientific knowledge in four areas of thematic focus. The areas of research focus are: a) Develop and test principle driven interventions to increase physical activity (PA) among older adults at risk of AD/ADRD; b) Design interventions to maintain and/or enhance cognitive function and mobility; c) Harness technology to promote healthy cognitive aging and to improve the scalability of existing interventions for cognitive health including PA, diet, and stress reduction; d) Target mechanisms of behavior change to promote and sustain behavioral and lifestyle change. We will work with an outstanding External Advisory Committee and talented UIC faculty on our Executive Committee to foster and execute the following Aims: Aim 1. Develop and maintain a strategic vision; ensuring that all relevant Stages of expertise in the NIH Stage Model will be represented within the Center and the ways that experts across the Stage Model will interact; Aim 2. Manage an External Advisory Committee that will include expertise in behavioral intervention development and will oversee Center functioning and assist the Directors in making scientific and administrative decisions including the allocation of funds for intervention studies; Aim 3. Develop a review panel that will identify, review and monitor clinical trials and behavioral interventions in a manner consistent with progression through the NIH Stage Model and overall Center goals; Aim 4. Monitor all clinical trials and describe their results in standardized annual progress reports to NIA; Aim 5. Work with NIA and the Roybal Coordinating Center to develop metrics that can be used to evaluate clinical trials and code key characteristics that can be used to compare them. Aim 6. Coordinate travel to national Roybal Center meetings annually at meeting sites designated by NIA and share key findings with other funded Centers; Aim 7. Encourage/Facilitate the development of networks among researchers, commercial interests, community interests, program design interests, and governmental entities to support translation activities that will expand the reach of our Center’s activities. The achievement of these aims and the conduct of rigorous research in the thematic areas of focus identified are expected to contribute substantially to reduced risk for AD and improved cognitive and physical functioning of older adults in Chicago, the Midwest, nationally and, potentially, internationally.
