Reducing dementia risk in immigrant women

Funding

Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Aim

Dementia affects women more often than men, particularly ethno-culturally diverse immigrant women. We synthesized prior research on strategies used to raise awareness among immigrant women of how to reduce dementia risk. We searched for studies that promoted dementia risk reduction to ethno-culturally diverse women published up to April 2023 in a prior review and 9 databases. From those studies, we collected information on strategy design, cultural tailoring and impact.

Key Findings

  • We identified 17 studies published from 2006 to 2021; 15 studies were conducted in the United States and 14 involved African, Caribbean or Latin people. No studies focused solely on women, and 50% to 90% of study participants were women
  • Strategies to promote awareness of how to reduce dementia risk were single or multiple in-person group sessions conducted by researchers, clinicians, and lay health leaders ranging from 25 minutes to 4 hours over a period of 3 weeks to 16 months. Sessions included lectures, discussions, role-playing, videos and take-home information.
  • Sessions were culturally tailored for different ethno-cultural groups by offering them in familiar community settings using participants’ first language by presenters of the same culture.
  • Before sessions, participants knew little about dementia and thought dementia was a normal part of aging. After the sessions, participants’ knowledge about dementia increased and their concern about poor quality of life with dementia decreased. Participants were very satisfied with the sessions and liked in-person learning over information shared via the Internet, radio or television.
  • See more information in this infographic

Impact

Culturally-tailored community-based education can increase knowledge about dementia. To share the findings of our study, we hosted a one-hour virtual meeting with participants from brainXchange—a network of over 12,000 members, including individuals with dementia, researchers, educators, healthcare professionals, and policymakers. Access the meeting recording and presentation Slides: [Watch the meeting recording here] [Download the presentation slides (PDF) here]