Center to Accelerate Population Research in Alzheimer’s (CAPRA)

Project Summary / Abstract
The goal of the Center to Accelerate Population Research in Alzheimer’s (CAPRA) – a P30 Center on the
Demography and Economics of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) - is to stimulate new,
innovative, and high-quality population ADRD research. CAPRA’s main focus is on the application of
observational research methods using secondary data to inform public policy and health care delivery while the
NIA Data LINKAGE Program (LINKAGE) creates an opportunity for greater access for a broader spectrum of
investigators. We see this as a dual opportunity. First, CAPRA will engage in developing new data and insights
into use of existing LINKAGE datasets linked to claims for ADRD research. Secondly, the CAPRA team will
gain experience using the LINKAGE platform to be able to advise, mentor, and support others in platform use.
Therefore, the overarching goal of this supplement is pilot use of the LINKAGE data repository to support the
expansion of the Research Resource Core data capabilities that support secondary data research in ADRD.
We propose two projects under this supplement that address different problems in ADRD research, but both
leverage the LINKAGE resource: (1) we would partner with our State of Michigan long-term services & support
(LTSS) office to bring assessment data for people receiving home and community-based services into the
LINKAGE environment with linkage to Medicare, nursing home (MDS) and possibly Medicaid data; and (2) we
would develop the capability to test if the performance of a validated ADRD identification algorithm varies when
applied across to NIA-funded and other datasets with survey and linked claims data. This pilot work will serve
to inform the use of the claims algorithm in these datasets and also set a foundation for future applications
such as renewal of this Center’s grant and other new grant proposals.

Grant Number: 3P30AG066582-05S2
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Julie Bynum