Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) Among Rural Residents: The State of the Field and Promising Research Directions

As the U.S. population ages, the prevalence of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) is increasing. ADRD is a leading cause of death among older adults and has significant impacts on quality of life, health care costs, and caregiver burden and well-being. Prevalence and costs of ADRD are expected to continue to rise in the coming decades, making this an increasingly urgent area of health policy research.

Rural areas, which are older, on average, than urban areas, experience greater ADRD burden, including higher rates of ADRD mortality. Some of this may be related to differences in access to timely and accurate diagnosis, treatment, and care management among rural residents. More information is needed, however, on the state of rural ADRD research and where critical gaps remain in order to inform effective policy. This project seeks to identify what is known about rural ADRD prevalence, outcomes, and health care utilization, and what public data exist to inform research rural ADRD going forward.