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. Participants 193 African American community-dwelling adults, ages 45 to 95 years old. Intervention All groups attended BrainWorks Live, a culturally tailored, 60-minute talk show and received standard printed educational materials on AD. From there: a) the BrainWorks Live group received no further contact until the post-test; b) one intervention group received a 1-month, culturally tailored, unidirectional, daily text-message program; and c) a second intervention group received daily text messages based on the printed educational materials that the general public would receive. AD literacy was measured at baseline and one month post intervention. Measurements Alzheimer's disease literacy and demographic and health covariates. Results At one month, participants who received culturally tailored text messages had the highest increase in AD literacy levels, followed by those in the BrainWorks Live arm. Participants who received general text messages had a lower overall increase in AD literacy levels compared to the other arms, but had higher mean AD literacy levels than the BrainWorks Live arm. There was a significantly greater increase in AD literacy levels among participants who received culturally tailored text messages compared with those who attended BrainWorks Live only. There were no other statistically significant differences between arms. Conclusions AD literacy among African Americans can be improved after only one month through culturally competent, economically feasible educational formats.