BrainWorks: A Comparative Effectiveness Trial to Examine Alzheimer's Disease Education for Community-Dwelling African Americans.

Objectives: To test a culturally tailored intervention to improve Alzheimer's disease (AD) literacy among African Americans.

Design: A 3-arm randomized comparative effectiveness trial.

Setting: Community sites in Los Angeles, CA.

Fundamental causes of barriers to participation in Alzheimer's clinical research among African Americans.

African Americans have a significantly higher risk than Whites for developing Alzheimer's disease (AD), but show lower participation in AD clinical trials. Studies of African Americans' involvement in clinical research have identified fear and mistrust of research as barriers to participation. Historical occurrences of unethical research practices are often cited as the source of these attitudes, but underlying factors such as African Americans' experiences of racism and discrimination remain unexplored.