Utilizing community engagement studios to inform clinical trial design at a Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease

Despite the disproportionate burden of Alzheimer’s disease in older adults of color, the scientific community continues to grapple with underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities in clinical research. Our Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease (CEAD) collaborated with a local community partner to conduct community engagement (CE) studios to effectively involve our community of diverse older adults in the early planning stages of a clinical trial. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, the in-person studio format was adapted to allow for virtual, real-time participation. Our objective is to describe the process and feasibility of conducting virtual CE studios in an older adult population. Ninety percent of participants were non-Hispanic Black community-dwelling woman aged 60 years and older. The overall background and proposed clinical trial design was presented to the participants who then made recommendations regarding potential recruitment strategies, the use of culturally relevant language to describe the study, and logistical recommendations to improve participation and retention among community members. Our CEAD successfully conducted virtual CE studios during the COVID-19 pandemic, by partnering with a community-based organization, to engage community stakeholders about clinical trial design. CEADs are in a unique position to implement CE studios to better support patient access to clinical trials.