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The authors thank their colleague, Jessica Boten , for her help with this post.
As a driving force for aging research, NIA funds a broad range of scientific projects, including those designed to share data and findings relevant to researchers here in the United States and internationally. Current demographic shifts involving rapid growth in the population of older adults around the globe underscore the need for increased worldwide momentum in comparative research on aging.
Toward this end, the NIA Division of Behavioral and Social Research is pleased to announce updates to its Global Aging webpage and a new NIA funding opportunity to encourage more research on aging and dementia internationally: RFA-AG-24-032: Enhancing Use of Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol Data . Applications are due Oct. 2, 2023.
Global Aging webpage updates and resources
To help social science researchers, updates to our Global Aging webpage were developed with input from web users from low- and middle-income countries. The latest content can help researchers around the world learn more about the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), which is funded by NIA and the Social Security Administration. The HRS provides a wealth of multidisciplinary data on approximately 20,000 older Americans.
The HRS International Family of Studies includes 22 international studies, ranging from countries large (China and India) to small (Lebanon). While these studies originate from a wide variety of cultures and continents, their data are harmonized to facilitate collaborative international research.
Another resource is the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP), a battery of cognitive tests used to improve the detection of cognitive decline in a subset of HRS respondents as well as in some of the studies in the HRS International Family of Studies. The HCAP is designed to measure and contribute to our understanding of dementia risk by collecting a carefully selected set of established cognitive and neuropsychological assessments and reports to monitor dementia prevalence and assist in the study of risk and protective factors for dementia cross-nationally.
You can also find information and tips on How To Apply for a global aging research project and Frequently Asked Questions for Global Aging Applications in the Behavioral and Social Sciences , which are particularly tailored to international scientists who are new to NIH.
Funding to expand international HCAP collaboration
Improving international analyses of HCAP data can illuminate different dementia outcomes worldwide. To assist in that goal, RFA-AG-24-032: Enhancing Use of Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol Data is designed to help scientists better understand how different behavioral, social, cultural, environmental, and institutional factors affect cognitive aging and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and to shed light on the experience of living with or managing these conditions in different national or regional contexts. Through this funding opportunity, NIA is seeking applications for projects that make use of the HCAP data for one or more countries.
Apply by Oct. 2 and explore our updated webpage!
Please consider applying to RFA-AG-24-032 by Oct. 2 and check out our expanded webpage to learn how to use HRS and HCAP data to advance global aging research. For questions, email Minki or leave a comment below.
Diversity Funding Opportunities Scientific Resources 2023-09-19T00:00:00Z