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American Samoa Study
Puipui Malu Manatu (Protecting Memories One Mind at a Time)
The study is a result of the American Samoa Community Cancer Coalition (ASCCC’s) INdigenous Samoan Partnership to Initiate Research Excellence (INSPIRE) program funded by the NIH’s National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). INSPIRE helped build research capacity to determine if health literacy contributed to low colorectal cancer screening. The project was awarded two administrative supplements to include ADRD in 2019.
The American Samoa Community Cancer Coalition (ASCCC) is committed to aiding and supporting residents of American Samoan with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD). American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders are very concerned about ADRD’s symptom and prevalence impacts on their societies.
The project’s first goal is to determine the pattern of ADRD in American Samoa, and study the resilience and risk factors of ADRD. The next goal is to help fund future research in American Samoa enabling ADRD to be diagnosed more quickly and accuratley, enabling more people to access care with improved outcomes. The study will be divided into three different stages, all with their own, unique aims. All stages will include the application of culturally adapted instruments and assessments that will be given in-person following CDC and NIH guidelines.
Stage 1 is data collection. Stage 2 is Gold Standard dementia evaluations conducted. Stage three is evaluation cross-validation.
Click here to visit the Puipui Malu ASCCC Puipui Malu Manatu webpage to learn more.