BRAIN HEALTH AND DEMENTIA CARE SERVICES - COMMUNITY-LED INNOVATION WITH AND FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES - Sponsored Symposium - SESSION 4350

Sep 29, 2026

BRAIN HEALTH AND DEMENTIA CARE SERVICES - COMMUNITY-LED INNOVATION WITH AND FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES centers on reducing cognitive disorder risk among Indigenous peoples by addressing health and healthcare inequities alongside community strengths. It convenes multiple US projects that apply collaborative, community-engaged scholarship frameworks, emphasizing meaningful interactions with community members throughout the research process. Presentations highlight culturally tailored brain-health and dementia-prevention education, caregiver support, and telehealth-enabled specialty diagnosis and management services to support aging in place.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Indigenous health context

Higher risk and resilience traditions

Community-engaged project approach

Meaningful collaboration across the scholarly process

Program priorities and innovations

KAER model tailoring and dementia prevention resources

Caregiver support and telehealth diagnosis/management

Symposium roles and session details

Chair, co-chair, and discussant

562 Innovation in Aging, 2025, Vol. 9, No. S2 of improved community understanding of brain health and dementia, cultural tailoring of best practice models, and innovative approaches to improve services to help Indigenous elders age in place. Thompson et [al. report](al. report) on a community-led effort to enhance the GSA-developed Kickstart, Assess, Evaluate, and Refer (KAER) model for brain health education, tailoring it for elders in the Meskwaki Settlement in Tama County, Iowa. Kim and colleagues joined with community members to develop accessible, community-driven online educational resources focused on dementia prevention and supporting dementia caregivers in remote Alaska Native communities. Punshon and co-authors describe a novel partnership between multiple healthcare systems to support implementation of specialty dementia diagnosis and management services via telehealth within a rural Native American community. All presentations will outline innovative, successful strategies to strengthen community-held knowledge and practices that can be emphasized and built upon to expand resources for dementia prevention and care. Indigenous Peoples Interest Group Sponsored Symposium SESSION 4350 (COMMUNITY ENGAGED SCHOLARSHIP SYMPOSIUM) Abstract citation ID: igaf122.1927 BRAIN HEALTH AND DEMENTIA CARE SERVICES: COMMUNITY-LED INNOVATION WITH AND FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES Chair: Mary Wyman Co-Chair: Sarah Punshon Discussant: Jordan Lewis Compared to other groups of older adults, Indigenous peoples are at higher risk for developing cognitive disorder as they age, due to health and healthcare inequities. However, indigenous communities also have a rich history of resilience and creativity, as well as many cultural traditions that support brain health and best practice care for persons with dementia. This symposium brings together several indigenous-focused projects across the US working within collaborative community-engaged frameworks, all of which center meaningful interactions with community members throughout the scholarly process to attain goals

FAQs

Why does the symposium focus on Indigenous peoples and brain health?

Indigenous peoples face higher risk of cognitive disorder with age due to health and healthcare inequities. The symposium also highlights resilience and cultural traditions that support brain health and dementia care.

What is the organizing approach used by the included projects?

Projects use collaborative community-engaged frameworks and prioritize meaningful interactions with community members throughout the scholarly process to achieve shared goals.

What kinds of innovations are highlighted in the presentations?

The symposium emphasizes culturally tailored brain-health education and dementia-prevention resources, caregiver support, and implementation of specialty dementia diagnosis and management via telehealth in rural Native American communities.

Sep 29, 2026

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