NBER Center for Aging and Health Research Supplement: Alzheimer’s Research Accelerator

DATE: July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020

With the rapid growth in the older population in the United States, one of the most fundamental health challenges of coming decades is the prevention, treatment, management and care for people with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias (ADRD). While many physicians and social-scientists agree on this need, economists think
about these challenges in very specific terms. For example, the incentives to discover new forms of Alzheimer’s prevention are likely to be quite different than the incentives that bring novel Alzheimer’s treatments to market.
The goal of this project is to harness the intellectual energies of a team of economic scholars in health economics, and at the boundaries of economics and medicine to use economic methods to understand the factors influencing Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias and, in turn, how systemic adjustments might be made toward
improving health outcomes. The intent is to incubate a comprehensive research agenda for continuing study.
We refer to the project as the Alzheimer’s Research Accelerator network. The specific aims are:
1. To engage a team of intellectual leaders in health economics, and health economics and medicine who, together with the project leader, brainstorm a potential long-term research agenda on the economics of Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias.
2. To bring together this network for research presentations and project development on key topics relating to ADRD, identifying unanswered questions, methodological approaches, data development opportunities, and other ideas helpful to advancing a comprehensive research agenda in this area. The meeting agenda will include sessions on the incentives for medical innovation relating to ADRD, dementia and the health care ecosystem, caregiving for people with ADRD diagnoses, and improving data resources for ADRD research.
3. To compile the background ideas of team participants, their write-ups before and after the meeting, and the interactive discussions, into a summary report that can be used to guide subsequent pilot studies, database development activities, and other follow-up work, laying the foundation for more comprehensive research proposals.