Economics of AD/ADRD Prevention, Treatment, and Care

June 18, 2026 — Rockville, MD

The increasing prevalence of Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) due to the aging US population poses profound challenges to our health and long-term care systems. Providing care to individuals with AD/ADRD is complicated by individuals’ potential cognitive limitations, and caregivers’ additional personal, professional, and financial responsibilities. Understanding the economic impact of dementia on patients, their caregivers, health care systems, and society promotes responsive policy development to improve prevention, treatment, and care of people living with AD/ADRD and their caregivers. 

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) has funded the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) to host a Coordinating Center as part of its Consortium for Economic Research on AD/ADRD Prevention, Treatment and Care. The Coordinating Center fosters collaborations to generate economic and policy-relevant research and to facilitate translation of this research into practice. The Coordinating Center will hold its Annual Conference at the Hilton Washington DC/Rockville Hotel & Executive Meeting Center on Thursday, June 18, 2026. 

This meeting is an opportunity to accelerate progress on AD/ADRD prevention, treatment, and care through cross-sector collaboration and dissemination of new research such as, the economic implications of innovative ADRD treatment and care model development and adoption, the impact of different payment models on quality and access to care, and methods to optimize resource utilization to support individuals and families affected by AD/ADRD. 

The Coordinating Center welcomes perspectives from economics, medicine, public health, and other disciplines. The conference is not limited to NBER affiliates. All individuals are welcome to submit an abstract for consideration.

The organizers welcome abstracts on any subject related to the economics of AD/ADRD. Topics of interest include but are not limited to: 

  • Policy and payment models that impact access to and quality of long-term services and support for people living with dementia (PLWD).
  • Economic impact of caregiving for people living with dementia for individuals, families, and the workforce at the national, regional, and/or state level.
  • Economic and labor market factors, including household as well as economy-wide factors, that impact the recruitment, training, and retention of healthcare workers in the dementia-care workforce.
  • Investigations of how institutional factors in health care delivery and/or finance systems influence access, utilization, and outcomes for PLWD and their families.
  • Economic modeling of the future costs and impacts of AD/ADRD, ranging from studies at the household to the national-aggregate level, including the use of artificial intelligence and real-world data to enhance forecasting and analysis.
  • Economic impact of prevention and management strategies for dementia, as well as the use of economic incentives, to modify individual or institutional actions.
  • Investigations of the relationship between labor force participation and other aspects of employment over time on dementia risk and health outcomes.
  • Economic aspects of drug development for dementia treatments, including the costs, incentives, and barriers associated with discovering and bringing new drugs to market, including issues of resultant access and coverage for patients.


The conference is open to research at different stages of completion. For oral presentations, research should be near completion or complete. Research at earlier stages may be considered for a poster presentation. Authors should submit their abstract at the link that best suits their presentation-type preference, but the Coordinating Center will invite authors to give an oral or poster presentation based on research stage and availability of space. Please do not submit the same abstract twice.

To be considered for presentation at the meeting, abstract must be received no later than 11:59 ET on February 28, 2026. Authors chosen to present will be notified by March 24, 2026.

Submit abstracts for oral presentations

Submit abstracts for poster presentations
 

The NBER will over hotel and economy-class conference travel for up to two authors per paper accepted for oral presentation, and for one author per paper accepted for poster presentation.

Please share this call with others who may be interested in submitting a paper. Logistical questions about this meeting should be directed to kathy.berry@roseliassociates.com; other questions, to Sarah Holmes Berk at sholmes@nber.org.