This special issue is the result of the Michigan Center for Contextual Factors in Alzheimer's Disease (MCCFAD) third Summer Data Immersion (SDI) program held on May 23-26, 2022. Thirty-seven researchers from 17 universities participated in the program, which emphasized racial/ethnic and other contextual factors in the study of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) costs using a team science approach. During the program, data from the Health and Retirement Study were used to investigate multiple topics related to both financial and non-financial costs of ADRD including: (1) life course socioeconomic factors, (2) costs of preclinical ADRD, (3) COVID-19, (4) family members' employment outcomes, (5) geographic contexts, (6) monetary value of unpaid ADRD care, and (7) spousal relations for couples living with ADRD.
Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; caregiving; contextual factors; costs; dementia; health care; race and ethnicity.