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Adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD) experience higher rates of age-related health concerns, including dementia, than adults without disabilities. Despite this, current efforts to support brain health in ageing have often excluded this population. To address this gap, we will codesign, codeliver and evaluate a national virtual brain health education programme, Brain Health-IDD, for ageing individuals with IDD, family caregivers and health and social care providers.
This study will evaluate the Brain Health-IDD Program, an interactive virtual psychoeducation course codesigned and coled by an interdisciplinary team of clinicians and people with lived experience. Three participant groups will be recruited from across Canada: adults with IDD, aged 40 years and older; family caregivers who have a family member with IDD aged 40 years and older or who are themselves aged 60 years and older; and health or social service providers who support adults with IDD aged 40 years and older. Outcomes will be measured at baseline, postcourse and 3-month follow-up. Data will be collected through structured surveys, including both closed and open-ended questions, and focus group interviews.
Primary outcomes are participation, satisfaction and changes in knowledge and self-efficacy related to brain health among the three participant groups. Secondary outcomes for both adults with IDD and family caregivers include changes in health-related behaviours (social connections, sleep hygiene and physical activity), physical health, mental wellbeing, resilience and whether cognitive screening is initiated for adults with IDD and for caregivers. For health and social service providers, secondary outcomes include changes in brain health promotion practices and whether cognitive screening for older adults with IDD is initiated.
Analysis of open-text survey responses and qualitative data from focus group interviews will explore the experiences of participants with the Brain Health-IDD Program.
Institutional ethics approval was obtained from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Research Ethics Board. Programme findings and resources will be shared with advocacy groups, disability agencies, family caregiver organisations, clinicians and policymakers in the fields of disability, health and ageing at the provincial, national and international levels.
by Georgia Black, Reena Besa, Daniel Blumberger, Heather Brooks, Graham Collingridge, John Georgiou, Evelyn K. Lambe, Clement Ma, Bernadette Mdawar, Tarek K. Rajji, Sanjeev Sockalingam, Cara Sullivan, Quincy Vaz, Zhengbang Yao, Branka Agic
IntroductionIntegrated knowledge translation (iKT) is a collaborative research approach that emphasizes the meaningful and active participation of knowledge users throughout the research process. Evidence suggests that integrated knowledge translation has the potential to increase the relevance, applicability, and use of research findings. This approach has been increasingly utilized in health research in recent years. However, the extent to which it has been applied in preclinical research and its effectiveness are unknown. To address this gap, we will conduct a scoping review to map the current use, potential benefits, and challenges of iKT in preclinical research.
MethodsGuided by a modified Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review framework, we will systematically search reference lists and key research databases including Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane CENTRAL, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Web of Science. Peer-reviewed articles written or translated in English that focus on iKT or approaches that align with iKT within the context of preclinical research will be included. This review will be conducted as part of the Improving Neuroplasticity through Spaced Prefrontal intermittent-Theta-Beta-Stimulation REfinement in Depression (INSPiRE-D) project, which features preclinical research from mouse models to human work (Grant number CAMH File No.22-060). The project’s multidisciplinary team and knowledge user advisory committee will be consulted at key points throughout the scoping review process. A person with lived experience co-chairs the project advisory committee, co-authored this manuscript, and will be routinely included in the decision-making process of the scoping review.
To characterise the information needs and experiences of receiving COVID-19 vaccine information by youth with mental health concerns.
Thematic analysis of semistructured interview transcripts.
Semistructured interviews via WebEx video conferencing or by telephone.
46 youth aged 16–29 with one or more self-reported mental health concerns and six family members of youth.
Our analysis generated four main themes: (1) information content and characteristics; (2) critical appraisal; (3) modulators of information-seeking behaviour; and (4) unmet information needs.
Our findings suggest that youth with mental health concerns have unique information needs and processing patterns influenced by their environments and experiences with mental health concerns. Participants identified barriers to receiving reliable health information and suggested ways to improve this process.
FreshRSS 