Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) disproportionately impacts African Americans compared to non-Hispanic Whites, with Franklin County, Kentucky ranking 2^nd highest frequency in the United States for diagnosis in this population. The goal of this study was to examine program evaluation of a unique interdisciplinary, multi-modal and holistic community-based program, “Healthy Aging Workshop Series.”

Findings from the 2022 Unity in the Community event indicated a need for diabetes prevention, healthy nutrition, and accessing healthcare. Various community resources collaborated to provide need-driven health education, demonstrations, informational handouts and occupation-based learning opportunities from the interdisciplinary lenses of behavioral science, neuroscience, dietetics, occupational therapy and physical therapy. 

Workshops were provided monthly for approximately two hours and included healthy snacks, exercises, health education, estate planning, community resources and concluded with a celebration and pampering session for the participants at the faith-based institution. 

Participants (n=47) were recruited from the faith-based center, with most participants being female (71.1%) and educated (52% some college, 8.3% bachelor’s degree, 11.1% master’s degree and 11.1% doctorate degree). The workshops 97.9% of participants were satisfied with the quality of the workshops with all participants report getting the information they needed. When asked if the workshops met participant needs, 97.7% reported the workshops provided met their needs. Participants reportedly would recommend the workshops to others in need of similar information (97.7%). 39.5% of participants reported knowing only a small amount of the information presented, and 18.6% of participants reported knowing none of the information. Finally, participants reported intentions to carry out principles learned from the workshop at home (46.8% very likely; 53.2% likely).

The initial workshop was setup with funding from the Engaged Aging Lab at Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. After the initial meeting a collaboration between Franklin County Cooperative Extension, brought the additional community partners, Kentucky State University and Fayette County Cooperative Extension Services.  

Establishing a pool of local health resources into an already trusted and often accessed faith-based community location allows for holistic programming and evaluation that continues to adapt to the needs and desires of the given community. Program evaluation shows an increase in knowledge and confidence to carry out principles learned from the workshops at home. 

Source:  Abstract published and submitted to the UK Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) annual conference.