A - 37 Measuring Experiences of Discrimination in Older Adults Enrolled in an Alzheimer’s Disease Research Cohort

• Published in: Archives of clinical neuropsychology 2023-10, Vol.38 (7), p.1198-1198
• Main Authors: Patel, Nisha, Halberstadter, Kimberly, Schumann, Rosalie, Mechanic-Hamilton, Dawn, Stites, Shana D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1873-5843; 1873-5843
• DOI: 10.1093/arclin/acad067.054

Abstract Objective Discrimination can affect healthy brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease (ad) outcomes. To advance this area of research, we characterized experiences of discrimination in a cohort of older adults, contributing data to a national research sample. Method An electronic survey was completed by cognitively unimpaired participants (n = 135) in the UPenn ad Research Center clinical cohort. The Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS) asks 10 questions about lifetime experiences with discrimination. Self-report questionnaires gathered sociodemographic data, including age, race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Associations between EDS items and sociodemographic characteristics were examined. Results The sample of 135 older adults averaged 74 years old, had 17 years of schooling, and were mostly women (61%) and white (71%). Half (49%) reported having discriminatory experiences including receiving less respect (35%), lower quality service (35%), less courtesy (34%), and being treated as inferior (35%) or less smart (22%). The most common reasons for discrimination were race (29%), gender (22%), skin color (18%), age (17%), and ancestry (16%). Black participants comprised the majority who reported receiving lower service (68%), being treated as less smart (60%), and with less courtesy (56%). Conclusions Our findings suggest older adults enrolled in brain aging research experience many types of discrimination, which disproportionately affect Black individuals. Their experiences make a valuable contribution to ad science, helping researchers to study how discrimination may correspond to ad outcomes. They also highlight the importance of researchers being well-trained to be culturally informed when interacting with individuals who have been, and may continue to be, impacted by discrimination.