Effectiveness of Active Brain Construction Program in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

The urgency of health promotion and dementia prevention is paramount. In 2019, the World Health Organization announced the "Risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia," which reviewed evidence-based prevention aspects and deduced 12 preventative dimensions, all related to lifestyle adjustments. Several are also related to chronic disease management. Therefore, referencing the theoretical foundation of chronic disease management and lifestyle interventions, and through the use of coaching skills-including goal setting, action planning, problem-solving, etc.-as indicators of effective behavior change, a 12-week group intervention program is developed for the prevention and delay of disability and dementia. This program aims to promote healthy behaviors, lifestyle changes, and cognitive function effects. This study aims to investigate whether the "Active Brain Construction Program (ABC Program)," led by trainers with coaching skills, can promote behavior participation in a dementia-preventive healthy lifestyle among community-dwelling elders, as well as enhance their health status and cognitive function. Furthermore, it compares the cognitive enhancement effects on community-dwelling elders between the coached and non-coached "Active Brain Construction Program (ABC Program)" against a control group. This study is a quasi-experimental non-randomized controlled trial, arranging three groups (experimental group, active control group, and control group) for comparison: 1) the coached "Brain-Healthy Lifestyle Reformation Course" group, 2) the general "Brain-Healthy Lifestyle Reformation Course" group, and 3) the control group (e.g., physical fitness class, nutrition courses). The elders undergo assessments before and after the course, including the collection of basic data. The primary effectiveness indicators are: the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-Taiwan Short Form (HELP-T-SF) and the Goal Achievement Scale (GAS), with GAS measuring the experimental and active control groups; the secondary indicators include: the questionnaire for the Prevention and Delay of Disability Care for the Elderly (program effectiveness evaluation), the ICOPE Function Self-Assessment Scale for the Elderly - Self-Rating version, and the WHO-5 Well-Being Index. Data analysis collected includes: descriptive statistics of demographic baseline data, paired t-test comparisons of pre- and post-test differences within groups, ANOVA for between-group differences and post-hoc comparisons, and qualitative observational records to aid interpretation during the intervention process.