PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Many agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Service (CMS) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have identified (Alzheimer’s Disease and
related dementias (ADRD) as a top research priority. This is driven by the high burden of ADRD on patients
and society. In 2020, the estimated societal cost of ADRD was more than $300 billion and the projected annual
economic cost of ADRD will exceed $1,500 billion by 2050. To address this, the National Institute on Aging
calls for the development of short courses on interdisciplinary behavioral and social sciences research on
Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias to improve the skills of the ADRD workforce in treating this disease
(RFA-AG-22-010).
In response to this call, scientists at Indiana University (IU) propose to launch the Agile Nudge University
program. The aims of the program are to establish a diverse network of highly engaged scientists who
specialize in treatment and research for Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias and to develop virtual
curriculum to train a racially, ethnically, and geographically diverse workforce to conduct projects on health
equity and anti-racism in ADRD care. The expert team of ADRD scientists at IU have been developing
curriculum in the emerging field of Agile Science for the past ten years, equipping researchers and healthcare
leaders with tools, adaptive processes, and agile strategies for designing, implementing, and spreading
sustainable ADRD solutions that leverage behavior change principles. This has prepared Indiana University to
be the Agile Nudge University program’s hub to deliver training for skills development in Agile Innovation, Agile
Implementation, and Agile Diffusion of behavioral nudges with the main goal of the program of improving
ADRD care. The program will offer comprehensive interdisciplinary mentoring and collaboration opportunities
for diverse graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and early-career, midcareer, and senior faculty interested
in ADRD research. It will also provide an online platform, supporting an open-source online library of individual
tested nudges and general theory-based nudge strategies, group-based problem-solving sessions.
The high costs of treating Alzheimer’s disease and the costs incurred by patients and caregivers, both tangible
and intangible, are a major threat to public health and the US economy. Training the ADRD workforce in the
effective design and implementation of interventions will bridge the gap between the bookshelf and real-world
application within the healthcare system.