Page 29 - Healthy Brain Initiative, State and Local Public Health Partnerships to Address Dementia: The 2018-2023 Road Map

SPOTLIGHT

TRANSLATING EVIDENCE THROUGH THE HEALTHY BRAIN RESEARCH NETWORK

The Healthy Brain Research Network (HBRN) is a relatives who
thematic public health research network that brings need information
together interdisciplinary expertise from six leading about the next
academic institutions across the United States: step. The HBRN
University of Washington (UW) (coordinating center); developed and
Oregon Health & Science University; University of tested culturally-
Arizona; University of Illinois at Chicago; University of relevant messages
Pennsylvania; and University of South Carolina. for adult men
CDC created the HBRN in 2014 to: and women from
diverse racial and
» Establish and advance a public health research, ethnic groups. 26,27
translation, and dissemination agenda that HBRN centers
promotes cognitive health and healthy aging, collaborated in
addresses cognitive impairment, and helps meet testing messages
the needs of caregivers; to increase
relevance and generalizability. The resulting research-
» Build a strong evidence base for policy,
communication, and programmatic interventions; tested messages encouraged adults to accompany
their parents to healthcare appointments if they have
» Collaborate with public health agencies and their concerns about their parents’ memory.
partners to accelerate effective practices in states
and communities; and Another important priority of the HBRN is workforce
development. From 2014 to 2017, the network trained
» Build the capacity of public health professionals 33 scholars from undergraduate, graduate, and post-
through training opportunities. doctoral programs in nursing, medicine, public health,
communications, and social work. The scholars were
The HBRN plays an important role in translating predominantly female (78%) and non-white (60%).
evidence into policies and programs. As just one The HBRN scholars reported increased knowledge
example, the HBRN center at the University of about and commitment to cognitive health, and have
Pennsylvania initiated a project to increase early contributed to the field by presenting at conferences,
identification and intervention by targeting adult authoring scholarly publications, and serving on
children concerned about their aging parents or older •
interdisciplinary research teams.

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