Implications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for targeted recruitment of older adults with dementia and their caregivers in the community: A retrospective analysis

Abstract

5.5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's dementia (AD) or related dementias. Developing evidence-based interventions for these people and their caregivers (dyads) is a public health priority, and is highly dependent on recruiting representatives from the community. Precision recruitment methodologies are needed to improve the efficiency of this process. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) offer the potential to determine location trends of an older adult population of people living with dementia in the community and their caregivers.American Community Survey (ACS) 2015 5-year estimates were analyzed at the census tract level in ESRI ArcMap v. 10.5.1. Datasets included summarized estimates of age, gender, income, and education in Maryland. Using a two-step process, geographic regions were identified in ArcMap that contained various combinations of available data variables. These areas were compared to participant locations from a previously completed traditional recruitment effort to determine overlap (Dementia Behavior Study - R01AGO41781).The largest number of existing participants were identified in derived regions defined by combining age, education, gender, and income variables; predicting 184 (79%) of 234 participants regardless of the population density within census tracts. 208 (89%) were identified when matching this variable combination to the highest density census tracts (city/urban), and 66 (28%) in regions with the lowest population density (rural).This study successfully defined specific geographic regions in the state of Maryland that overlapped with a large number of known dementia dyad locations obtained via traditional recruitment efforts. Implications for these findings allow for more targeted recruitment efforts of difficult to recruit populations, and less utilization of resources for doing so.

The Implementation and Effectiveness of geographic information systems and Location Intelligence technology in digital agriculture

“…CMaps Analytics (from the American company Centigon Solutions) [5] is a system positioning itself as a convenient visualization tool based on popular and accessible electronic maps Google Maps. The main purpose of the product is to create an affordable and simple Location Intelligence.…”

Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Targeted National Recruitment of Community-Dwelling Caregivers Managing Dementia-Related Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms: A Recruitment Approach for a Randomized Clinical Trial

“…Individuals at risk of either having dementia or being a caregiver of a person living with dementia can be described by specific risk variables according to previous studies [1] [35] [36] [37] [38]. The variables for age, gender, income, and education level will be utilized for this recruitment analysis based on previous research and verified in retrospective work done by Scerpella et al (2019) [16]. A grouping analytical approach will be used to derive optimal numbers of high and low prevalence tracts wherein specific combination of these critical variables can be observed.…”

“…As such, a large, representative sample of caregivers managing BPSD must be identified and recruited to test the utility of the redesigned We-CareAdvisor application. To avoid high costs, study delays, and low-quality evidence, recruitment needs to be conducted efficiently to enroll individuals in a timely manner [15] [16]. Culturally adapted recruitment strategies that reflect the diverse values, beliefs and perceptions of caregiving are crucial considerations to encourage study-participation among caregivers [17].…”

“…Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide a cost-effective and efficient method to identify individuals of varying demographics, including race and ethnicity, age, gender, geography, urbanicity, and socioeconomic status [16]. This is possible through importing United States Census data, which are freely available online, into GIS software to create maps and inform the targeted distribution of recruitment materials and outreach efforts [18] [19].…”

“…As to dementia care, there is limited research on the use of GIS to recruit study participants in trials. In a previous trial, we showed that GIS could be a useful tool by demonstrating retrospectively that GIS strategies were able to predict zipcodes of study participants [16]. However, GIS have not been used to prospectively guide recruitment strategies to identify study participation of caregivers of people living with dementia nationally in a clinical trial.…”