Examining the decision to take a dementia risk test: Considerations for privacy in screening at-home

Early methods for screening and monitoring Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are being developed in response to emerging interventions that target preclinical disease stages. This study aimed to determine adults’ willingness to be screened for dementia risk, and the extent to which privacy of results relative to medical or insurance providers impacted their decision. Amazon MTurk was used to survey 527 adults nationwide. Logistic regression and random forest models identified that overall, participants were willing to take such a test, with older age being associated with increased willingness. However, non-White participants were over three times more likely than White participants to agree to be screened only if their results were not shared with a medical provider/insurer. Findings suggest that more inclusive and affordable methods for dementia risk screening and monitoring need to be developed for real-world at-home use without engaging medical providers or insurance.