Cognitive Health Promotion Program for Community-Dwelling Seniors: Who Are We Reaching?

Abstract

This exploratory study examines the reach of Jog Your Mind, a multifactorial community-based program promoting cognitive vitality among seniors with no known cognitive impairment. The aim was to determine whether the program successfully reached its target population and to compare the characteristics of participants (sociodemographic, health, lifestyle, attitudes, and cognitive profile) with the general population of seniors. Twenty-three community organizations recruited 294 community-dwelling seniors willing to participate in the program. Descriptive analyses revealed that the participants were mostly Canadian-born educated women living alone. Participants' health profile and lifestyle behaviors were fairly similar to those of seniors in Québec and Canada. A large proportion of the participants were concerned about their memory. These results suggest that the program did not attract many hard-to-reach members of the population and reached seniors who may have had some cognitive challenges. Cues to action for improving the reach of cognitive health promotion programs are discussed.

Where Are All the Men? A Qualitative Review of the Barriers, Facilitators, and Recommendations to Older Male Participation in Health Promotion Interventions

“…56 David O. Garcia and colleagues have found that Hispanic men (and women) with diabetes reported a desire for greater family inclusion in their diabetes self-care programs to help support them in establishing healthy behaviors. 59 They have also shown that health messages using fear appeals as well as those reflecting a more positive masculinity were both effective approaches to engage Hispanic males in research and preventive and treatment efforts. 60 Therefore, it is important to consider the variation across populations, groups, and among individuals that may exist within older men’s frameworks and experiences of masculinity.…”

‘A journey of self‐discovery and transformation’: A theoretical and comprehensive evaluation of the Queen's nursing institute Scotland community development programme

“…Given the lack of qualitative evaluation frameworks, this study was designed using a process evaluation framework to explore adoption, implementation and maintenance (Grant et al, 2013). This framework has been widely used in qualitative programme evaluations (Grant et al, 2017; Heggdal et al, 2021; Lorthios‐Guilledroit et al, 2020; Wynters et al, 2021).…”