Albert H. W. Jiang,1,2 Clara Lee,2,3 Emily Kulaga,2,3 Rishika Isanaka,2 Kyle Ishikawa,4 Hyeong Jun Ahn,4 Kenji Aoki,1,2 Janette Bow-Keola,1,2 Matthew Kao,1,2 Tyrone John Sumibcay,1,2 Amir Meghdadi,5 Chris Berka,5 Qi Zhi,2 Michael Sonson,6 Enrique Carrazana,1 Kore Liow1,2
1 John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaiʻi, Honolulu, HI
2 Hawaii Pacific Neuroscience Memory Disorders Center and Alzheimer’s Research Unit, Honolulu, HI
3 University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
4 JABSOM Biostatistics Core Facility, Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Hawaiʻi John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI
6 Advanced Brain Monitoring, Carlsbad, CA
5 Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) presents growing challenges in Hawaiʻi, where cultural values and personal health beliefs may shape how patients and caregivers perceive diagnostic and treatment options. The recent approval of monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies and increasing interest in noninvasive tools such as EEG raise timely questions about local attitudes toward evolving approaches in AD care.
This project adopts a dyadic survey design to explore and compare perspectives between patients and caregivers, with a focus on general awareness, trust, and perceived accessibility of emerging and established modalities. We will assess attitudes toward mAbs, ApoE genetic testing, and EEG-based biomarkers, which may offer complementary diagnostic insight alongside traditional PET and CSF methods.
Due to IRB constraints, this project remains in a developmental phase focused on survey design. Guided by feedback from biostatisticians and clinicians, we are prioritizing culturally sensitive language and response formats that capture both general understanding and treatment attitudes while ensuring participant suitability and clinical relevance. Our long-term goal is to inform patient-centered communication strategies around early AD detection and therapy options.
