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Healthy Brain Initiative
The role of public health in enhancing the physical health of older
adults is well-known. Public health’s role in maintaining cognitive health,
a vital part of healthy aging and quality of life, is emerging. Cognition is
a combination of mental processes that includes the ability to learn new
things, intuition, judgment, language, and remembering. The need for a
clearly delineated public health role comes at a critical time, given the
dramatic aging of the U.S. population, scientific advancements in risk
behaviors (e.g., lack of physical activity, uncontrolled high blood
pressure) related to cognitive decline, and the growing awareness of the
significant health, social, and economic burdens associated with cognitive
decline. The Healthy Brain Initiative is a multifaceted approach to
cognitive health that includes the following:
The lack of cognitive health—from mild cognitive decline to dementia—can
have profound implications for an individual’s health and well-being. Older
adults and others experiencing cognitive decline may be unable to care for
themselves or to conduct necessary activities of daily living, such as meal
preparation and money management. Limitations with the ability to
effectively manage medications and existing medical conditions are
particular concerns when an individual is experiencing cognitive decline or
dementia. If cognitive decline can be prevented or better treated, lives of
many older adults can be improved.
Opportunities for maintaining cognitive health are growing as public health
professionals gain a better understanding of cognitive decline risk factors.
The public health community should embrace cognitive health as a priority,
invest in its promotion, and enhance our ability to move scientific
discoveries rapidly into public health practice.
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The Healthy Brain Initiative: A National Public
Health Road Map to Maintaining Cognitive Health
The Healthy Brain Initiative: A National Public Health Road Map to
Maintaining Cognitive Health is a call to action and a guide to assist
in implementing a coordinated approach to moving cognitive health into
public health practice. The road map was written to bring together multiple
partners, agencies, and organizations. It was developed in a year-long
process following a research meeting about “The Healthy Brain and Our Aging
Population: Translating Science into Public Health Practice,” in May 2006.
The developmental process involved partners at the national, state, and
local levels including the Alzheimer’s Association, National Institutes of
Health, Administration on Aging, AARP, National Association of Chronic
Disease Directors, the Healthy Aging Research Network of the Prevention
Research Centers, and many others. The priority actions are grounded in the
current state of the science, emphasize primary prevention, and are focused
on community and population health. The priority actions were developed and
reviewed by more than 150 experts across various disciplines and
organizations.
The Healthy Brain Initiative: A National Public
Health Road Map to Maintaining Cognitive Health was released on June
10th, 2007, at the International Prevention of Dementia Conference in
Washington, DC.
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Surveillance
- Assessing and monitoring the perceived impact of cognitive
impairment at the state-level. CDC’s Healthy Aging Program used a
comprehensive approach to develop a set of questions for use in a
population-based surveillance system (specifically the
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System) that assesses and monitors the public’s beliefs about the
impact of cognitive impairment. These data will lay the groundwork for
advancing public health’s understanding about the perceived impact of
cognitive impairment among American adults by providing state-level
data. These data can be used to develop state and national report cards
about cognitive impairment, develop state and local plans and policies,
develop programs and community coalitions, and identify calls to action.
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Research
- Understanding the publics’ perception of “brain health”
The CDC funded the Healthy Aging Research Network (PRC-HAN), a
Prevention Research Centers network of nine universities involving
experts in the field of aging and working within communities, is
conducting prevention research on older adult health issues including
cognitive health. HAN members are collaborating on a networkwide project
that involves a series of focus groups designed to identify how diverse
groups of older adults understand cognitive health and what health
promotion and disease prevention approaches related to cognitive health
the public may find most appealing. This project has recently been
expanded to examine the perceptions of caregivers and healthcare
providers. It will provide important data that can be added to what is
already known about cognitive or “brain” health, identify gaps in
knowledge about cognitive health and related risk factors, and determine
if such beliefs vary across geographical distances and between diverse
populations.
Healthy Aging Research Network (PRC-HAN)
- Systematic literature review about physical activity
interventions or strategies related to cognitive health. CDC’s
Healthy Aging Program funded this project to conduct a review of current
literature about interventions designed to promote protective factors
for cognitive health, such as physical activity. Guided by an expert
panel, project investigators developed an organizing model and analytic
framework to guide the review. A systematic review is currently underway
to identify physical activity interventions related to cognitive health.
This project focuses on physical activity interventions or strategies
most relevant to the public health community.
- Research meeting about the “Healthy Brain and our Aging
Population: Translating Science to Public Health Practice.”
The CDC and the Alzheimer’s Association held a meeting in May 2006 to
bring together national experts to review and discuss the current
scientific knowledge of major risk and protective factors related to
maintaining cognitive function and reducing risk for cognitive decline.
Additionally, the meeting focused on addressing the potential to promote
and protect cognitive health and emotional well-being through new
collaborations and investments to move the science forward for the
benefit of the public. The findings from the research meeting have
provided a foundation and common frame of reference for moving cognitive
health forward to find programmatic and prevention research strategies
for risk factors (e.g., lack of physical activity, uncontrolled high
blood pressure) that have an impact on cognitive health issues.
Proceedings from the meeting were published in an April 2007 supplement
issue, “The Healthy Brain and our Aging Population” of Alzheimer’s &
Dementia: the Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
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Partnerships
The CDC has established a cooperative agreement with the Alzheimer’s
Association to develop and implement a multifaceted community-based
demonstration project to educate African American baby boomers on the
current state of science related to brain-healthy lifestyles. The community
intervention is designed to effect knowledge and attitudes among African
American baby boomers related to physical activity and vascular risk
factors, and it will be overlaid with information about other general health
behaviors such as diet, social activity and mental activity. During the
first phase of this project, the Alzheimer’s Association led a comprehensive
planning and development effort, including formative research to assess the
current needs and obstacles for the target population, eliciting community
input and participation, and creating a comprehensive, multi-level community
intervention with robust evaluation mechanisms to measure effectiveness of
the public health project. This project is currently being evaluated and
implemented in two U.S. communities.
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Resources
- Engaging young people on cognitive health.
The CDC Healthy Aging Program worked with CDC’s Science Ambassador
Program to teach budding scientists about Alzheimer’s disease. This
program partners CDC scientists with middle and high school science
teachers to develop public health-related lesson plans that meet
National Science Education standards. These lesson plans bring current
and relevant science topics into the classroom and challenge students to
think about science as it applies to their own lives.
The Aging Brain: A Lesson on Alzheimer's Disease
(PDF–336Kb)
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Reference citation:
Source: Himes C, Oettinger EN, Kenny DE (2004). Aging in Stride: Plan ahead,
stay connected, keep moving. Washington: Caresource Healthcare
Communications, Inc.
* Links to non-federal
organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not
constitute an endorsement of any organization by CDC or the federal
government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for
the content of the individual organization Web pages found at this link.
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Page last reviewed: December 17, 2008
Page last modified: December 17, 2008
Content source: Division of Adult
and Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion |
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