ABCs of a Healthy Brain (Project Completed)
Cognitive health is a growing concern with significant repercussions on seniors’ cognitive and mental health.
Cognitive health is a growing concern for Réseau Santé Alberta and its partners. The COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on our seniors, who were forced to isolate to stay safe. But this had significant repercussions on their cognitive and mental health. The aging of the Francophone population in Alberta, as elsewhere, requires us to focus more on French-language health services for people with cognitive disorders, and to find ways to better promote cognitive health in French.
Here is a brief explanation from the website of the Centre d’expertise et de référence en santé publique (INSPQ): “Cognitive impairment increases with age. It includes cognitive decline, a normal consequence of aging, and neurocognitive disorders. The latter manifest mainly as dementia, an important cause of morbidity and mortality in people aged 85 and over. It is possible to act on various factors to delay or prevent the onset of major cognitive impairments.”
THE PROJECT
Our health network is proud to participate again in a new project led by RésoSanté Colombie-Britannique and to implement it with the Réseau santé en français de la Saskatchewan and the Partenariat communauté en santé in Yukon.
The ABCs of a Healthy Brain has two streams
- A community stream aimed at informing you, equipping you, and supporting you as you become familiar with the latest knowledge and resources concerning cognitive disorders, including dementia;
- A research stream that will shed light on the situation of dementia in Francophone minority communities of the West and the North, and identify the needs for French-language services for those affected and the loved ones who support them.
To learn more about the project, consult its web page.
Read the press release issued by RésoSanté Colombie-Britannique
TARGET AUDIENCES
The activities offered throughout this multi-provincial project will meet the needs or questions of people:
- who want to improve or maintain their cognitive health as they age;
- who are at higher risk of dementia (presence of unmanaged risk factors);
- whose loved one is or has been affected by dementia;
- who are isolated in their region and have less access to health and support services in the language of their choice.
PROJECT RESOURCES
Series of webinars on cognitive health – ABCs of a Healthy Brain Project – ABCs of a Healthy Brain
Recording – webinar Promoting the Maintenance of Cognitive Health After Retirement
Recording of the Alzheimer’s Panel + PDF presentation
(Réseau Santé Alberta)
Recording of the webinar Dementia: An Inevitability of Old Age? + PDF presentation
(RésoSanté Colombie-Britannique)
Recording of the webinar The Bilingual Brain and Cognitive Health + PDF presentation
(RésoSanté Colombie-Britannique)
Short training – Better Understanding and Helping Our Seniors with Neurocognitive Disorders (RSA, Fédération des aînés franco-albertain, and Centre Montessori Alzheimer)
EXTERNAL RESOURCES
Daily articles on aging and cognitive health (CNFS Glendon College – York University)
Podcast Let’s Talk About Neurocognitive Disorders! (Dementia Dialogue)
Short training courses, resources, and events Bringing Clarity to Dementia (McMaster University)
Training From Stress to Well-Being for caregivers (Coalition des femmes de l’Alberta)
PROJECT NEWS
ABCs of a Healthy Brain: Cognitive Health of Francophones of Western Canada (Nord-Ouest FM, March 24, 2022)
A Survey to Better Meet French-Language Needs Related to Dementia (ICI Saskatchewan, Radio-Canada, March 14, 2022)
Online Survey as Part of the ABCs of a Healthy Brain Project (Point du jour, Radio-Canada, March 14, 2022)
Living with Dementia, a Complicated Reality (ICI Colombie-Britannique-Yukon, Radio-Canada, February 15, 2022)
Alzheimer’s, a Disease in Linguistic Silence (Le Franco, February 13, 2022)
Dementia is Not Inevitable (L’Eau vive, February 13, 2022)
A New Dementia Prevention Project in French in Alberta (La Croisée, ICI Alberta, Radio-Canada, February 9, 2022)
Launch of the First Canadian Alzheimer’s Screening Program (ICI Colombie-Britannique-Yukon, Radio-Canada, December 15, 2021)
A Dementia Strategy Called for in Saskatchewan (ICI Saskatchewan, Radio-Canada, January 24, 2022)
The ABCs of a Healthy Brain project is one of 13 projects funded nationally by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) through the Dementia Strategic Fund (DSF). The project, intended to support the implementation of Canada’s national strategy, is aimed at Francophones in minority situations in three western provinces and one northern territory.
