Overview:

There are currently more than 6 million Americans living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, yet only about half of them have received a diagnosis. Earlier detection and diagnosis of dementia has the potential to improve care management for these patients and enable them and their caregivers to be connected with optimal support and resources. We have developed a tool called eRADAR (electronic health record [EHR] Risk of Alzheimer's and Dementia Assessment Rule) that uses routinely collected EHR data to help identify patients who may have undiagnosed dementia. We have received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to perform a clinical trial that will involve reaching out to patients with high eRADAR scores and offering a brain health visit to assess for cognitive impairment. This study is in collaboration with Kaiser Permanente Washington (KPWA). As part of this study, we are looking for a part-time qualitative researcher to help us perform a formative evaluation of the impact of the outreach and assessment process, so that we can maximize the potential benefits of the visit and minimize unintended harms. This would require about 10% effort over 2 years.

Responsibilities:

·       Observe and record ~30 brain health visits

·       Conduct semi-structured interviews with ~24 participants 1 and 4 months after visit

·       Conduct semi-structured interviews with ~10 clinicians or other clinical team members

·       Collaborate with KPWA qualitative team in material development, refinement of processes, and work through big picture items

·       Assist in qualitative data analysis