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Background: 10%to 20%of Americans aged 65 and older have mild cognitive impairment (MCI) with 10%progressing to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) each year. Underserved groups, including African Americans (AAs), are among the most vulnerable to MCI and AD. Although evidence continues to amass, the benefits of exercise and movement for AD is still understudied in AD. Objective: Understanding the attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs about motor-cognitive integration and examining the physical activity of a sample of predominantly Black women community members with self-reported memory problems will allow improved recruitment and refinement of multimodal interventions designed to improve motor-cognitive and cognitive function. Methods: We conducted focus groups with older adults who reported subjective memory complaints (n = 15; Black: n = 12, White: n = 3, mean age 71.7±5.8). Results: Findings from thematic analysis showed most participants knew of benefits of exercise. However, most participants reported not getting adequate exercise due to factors such as pain, increased responsibilities, and fears of injury. Despite barriers, participants expressed enthusiasm for multimodal interventions designed to target body and brain health and provided several suggestions to improve or enhance the proposed interventions. Conclusion: Results provide useful insights regarding improving participation among historically under-represented groups in clinical movement-based research. Participants’ discussion focused primarily on the way motor-cognitive integration prevents falls, maintains memory, and provides a social benefit. The reported perceived benefits and limitations of exercise, as this population understands it, can help researchers and physicians better engage the community for lifestyle changes that will support greater motor-cognitive health.

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Background and Objectives: This paper reports on an interpretive evaluation conducted to identify successes and weaknesses of an 8-week educational intervention co-taught by medical students and faculty that was designed to foster communication between clinicians and researchers and ultimately increase participation in clinical research by older adults, including underrepresented groups. Weekly topics focused on age-related changes and health conditions, socio-contextual factors impacting aging populations, and wellness strategies. Research Design and Methods: A post-intervention focus group was conducted with a representative group of eight older adults (mean age = 76 ± 11 years) from 51 total participants who completed the educational intervention. Participants were diverse in race, socio-economic status, education level, sex, and marital status. Results: Thematic analyses show several participants were motivated by their personal experiences to join the study and continue coming to the seminars throughout the study. While participants viewed most aspects of the study as a success and stated that it was a productive learning experience, most participants had suggestions for improvements in the program content and implementation. Specifically, the composition of and direction to small breakout groups should be carefully considered and planned in this population, and attention should be paid to delivery of sensitive topics, e.g., death, dementia. A clear main benefit of this programmatic approach is the development of rapport among participants and between participants and clinical researchers. Discussion and Implications: Results provide useful insights regarding improving participation among hard-to-reach and historically under-represented groups of older adults in clinical research. Future iterations of the DREAMS program and similar educational interventions can use these findings to improve the program and better achieve the programmatic objectives.

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