UVic app part of dementia prevention program

June 27, 2022

Researchers at the University of Victoria are playing a key role in an innovative online program that was recently launched by Canada’s largest dementia research initiative, the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA). The program, Brain Health PRO (BHPro), offers interactive digital educational modules to empower older adults to improve their physical and mental health, and modify their risk factors for dementia.

Over the course of the program, participants will complete brief cognitive assessments on their cell phones using MyCogHealth, a mobile app developed at the University of Victoria. The developers hope by permitting fully-remote assessments,  more older Canadians will have an opportunity to participate in dementia prevention trials and cognitive aging studies.

“The power of mobile and web-based technologies lies in their scalability”, says Dr. Paul Brewster, UVic Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychology and Institute on Aging & Lifelong Health and the acting Victoria site lead for BHPro.

The study will support 350 older adults across Canada who have at least one risk factor for dementia, with the goal of seeing participants’ dementia risk reduced throughout the year-long study.  To learn more, please visit canthumbsup.ca