Brain Health
BPHC is working with partners across Boston to create a plan, policies, and programs to help residents promote brain health throughout their lives.
-
-
Questions about our work? Want to learn more?
Boston BOLD Project
BPHC received a two-year, $700,000 grant from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Healthy Brain Initiative. With this funding, BPHC launched the Boston BOLD Project and is working to build systems and support policy changes related to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Using insights gathered from meetings with our stakeholder coalitions and our community needs assessment, BPHC is creating a strategic plan for the city of Boston to meet the needs of residents living with or at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s or dementia and their caregivers.
Boston BOLD Project Citywide Advisory Committee
BOLD Project Needs Assessment and Strategic Plan
Data & PlanningHealthy equity is a cross-cutting theme across all five priorities in the city's Alzheimer's and dementia strategic plan.
- Priority 1: Finding and Connecting to Support Services
- Priority 2: Care Partner Support
- Priority 3: Workforce/System Capacity
- Priority 4: Risk Reduction, Screening, and Diagnosis
- Priority 5: Surveillance Data Collection
BRAIN HEALTH BASICS
Brain Health BasicsBrain health refers to how well a person’s brain functions in various ways. This includes:
- Cognitive health: how well you think, learn, and remember
- Motor function: how well you make and control body movements
- Emotional function: how well you understand and respond to emotions
- Tactile function: how well you feel and respond to pressure, pain, and temperature
What is dementia?
It is normal to be a little more forgetful as we age. However, some difficulties with how you think, remember, and learn could mean you have cognitive impairment such as dementia.
Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning, such as thinking, remembering, and reasoning skills, to the point where it interferes with daily life and activities.
Symptoms of dementia may include problems with language skills, visual perception, and paying attention. Some people have personality changes.
The most common type of dementia is Alzheimer's, but dementia also includes Frontotemporal dementia, Lewy body dementia, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and dementias from more than one cause.
Alzheimer's vs. Dementia
Dementia is a general word for problems with memory, understanding, and thinking skills. Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia. Most people who have dementia have Alzheimer's disease.
- Alzheimer’s begins with memory loss and can end up making it difficult to hold a conversation, think clearly, and can make it hard for a person to complete daily activities.
- Alzheimer’s is a disease that get worse with time.
- Alzheimer’s involves parts of the brain that control thought, memory, and language.
More About Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's DiseaseAccording to the Alzheimer's Association, there are 10 early warning signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. If you or your loved one experience any of these signs or symptoms, do not ignore them and contact your doctor.
To learn more about these warning signs, visit Memory Loss & 10 Early Signs of Alzheimer’s | alz.org
-
Memory loss that disrupts daily life
-
Challenges in planning or solving problems
-
Difficulty completing familiar tasks
-
Confusion with time or place
-
Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
-
New problems with words in speaking or writing
-
Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
-
Decreased or poor judgment
-
Withdrawal from work or social activities
-
Changes in mood and personality
- Over 5.8 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease
- It is most common in African American, Black, and Hispanic populations
- It is also more common in populations with chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension
- Alzheimer’s is most common in adults aged 65 or older, but it is also possible for younger people to get it
- There is not a single cause, but there are risk factors
- You have an increased risk of getting Alzheimer's if someone in your family has the disease
- Other risk factors include having certain chronic diseases, including diabetes and hypertension, eating unhealthy foods, not exercising, having had a brain injury, or exposure to certain toxic chemicals such as lead
- Incorporating healthy behaviors, such as exercising and eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein foods, can help lower your risk
Healthy Aging Resources
Boston Age Strong Commission
Facilitating full and equal participation in all aspects of life for adult residents in Boston
Boston Office of Food Justice
Connecting residents to food resources throughout the city and providing support to apply for available benefits
Mayor's Health Line
Providing residents with services like answering health insurance eligibility and enrollment questions, finding primary care providers, and other services
Central Boston Elder Services
Providing support and services to the elderly and disabled in need of human services
Ethos: Healthy Aging Classes
Evidence-based healthy aging workshops
Older Adult Fall Prevention
Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries for older adults in the United States
BCYF Senior Programs
Community programs for Boston's older adult residents
Boston Home Center
Working with neighborhood agencies to assist seniors applying for minor or large home repairs
ESAC: Senior Home Repairs
Protecting health and safety for seniors while maintaining and improving quality of life through home repairs
Brain Health Resources
Brain Health ResourcesADRD HOME SAFETY BASICS
-
-
Questions about our work? Want to learn more?
