“Developing an innovative program isn’t enough,” said Belleville, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging and Brain Plasticity and a researcher at the Montreal University Institute of Geriatrics Research Centre.
“We also need to figure out how to implement (the program) in the real world."
Fourteen partners across Canada—including community organizations, public health stakeholders and clinics—are now offering Brain Health PRO to their own clients.
Each organization can do it in its own way. A medical clinic might simply hand a brochure to a patient who could benefit from the program. A community organization might host an activity on brain health and support participants throughout the process.
This flexibility is part of the plan. “It isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach; it’s tailored to each community, to be true to real life,” said Belleville, who's also scientific director of the Quebec Network for Research on Aging.
The research team will observe what works—and what doesn’t. If an organization is having trouble sparking the interest of its clients, the research team wants to understand why.
Similarly, if staff don’t have time to answer questions, the team will determine what tools could help. If an organization drops the program entirely, that will also be valuable information.
“Scientific studies tend to attract people who are already health-conscious,” Belleville noted.
“The volunteers are often highly educated women. But since our goal is to prevent cognitive decline at the population level, we need to go further and reach people who don’t fit that profile.”
From knowledge to action
The idea behind Brain Health PRO is straightforward: give people reliable information and concrete ways to act on the factors that influence cognitive health.
The goal isn’t to convince people to transform their lifestyle overnight. When participants register, they fill out a questionnaire to establish their profile. A clock-style graphic then shows them the areas where their health could be improved, and they can choose their priorities.
Each week, they receive new content in the form of short interactive videos. It takes about 10 minutes to complete a chapter, which includes quizzes and practical advice. For example, the program can explain why physical activity benefits the brain and suggest strategies for becoming less sedentary and more active.
Prevention: the foundation of brain health
Belleville pointed out that a significant proportion of neurocognitive disorders could be prevented or delayed by addressing the seven modifiable risk factors.
“However, this doesn’t mean we can promise people ‘if you do X, you won’t experience cognitive decline,’” she said. “Prevention doesn’t guarantee that a person will avoid a disorder, but it does help reduce certain risks at both the individual and collective levels.”
Encouraging trends have in fact been observed at the population level in recent years.
While the total number of people living with neurocognitive disorders is rising as life expectancy and the number of older adults increase, some analyses show a decrease in incidence when controlling for age.
“Longer life expectancy doesn’t necessarily mean poor health in the last years of life – on the contrary, people are living longer in good health than ever, though it’s still hard to reduce the time of serious health problems and loss of independence," said Belleville.
"So the challenge is to ensure that the added years are a time of healthy living, particularly in terms of cognitive function.”
