According to the Alzheimer’s Association website, Alzheimer’s disease in Kentucky is a growing public health crisis and the impact is projected to rise. Alzheimer’s Association current data listed for Kentucky reports that 81,000 people at the age of 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s and 11.2 percent of people at the age of 45 and older have subjective cognitive decline. As for brain health, the Alzheimer’s Association website states that even though there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, research is still developing with evidence that is strong in helping reduce cognitive decline is to make lifestyle changes with examples such as staying active, staying socially engaged, and maintain good heart health.

In February 2024, Monroe County Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent was one of one hundred one FCS Agents from the University of Kentucky to attend an in-person training course to teach the WITS Workout curriculum. The curriculum was taught by University of Illinois colleagues who developed the program.

The WITS Workout curriculum is a peer-reviewed, pilot-tested, brain health resource tool developed to assist leaders who provide programming to older adults in community settings. WITS Workout has two main goals that are to provide purposeful opportunities for older adults to engage intellectually, and to increase their socialization through ongoing group participation.

The facilitator’s guide for WITS Workout contains 24 themed units, each unit averaging a length of 60-to-90-minute programs. Each unit provides a leader guide, printable activity handouts, and answer sheets. The units can be modified by the number of activities utilized. The units can be offered weekly, biweekly, or monthly, and can stand alone or be presented as a series.  

Since that training, Monroe County Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent has offered WITS Workout activities thirteen times in Monroe County to twenty-one participants in two different locations since Fall 2024. The programs are held at the locations of Tompkinsville Senior Center and Fountain Run Senior Center. These participants visit the Tompkinsville Senior Center, or the Fountain Run Senior Center on a weekly basis. Participants include both male and female senior age groups ranging from age sixty-five to ninety-three.  Most of the participants are retired from farming or public work and enjoy visiting the senior centers to socialize with friends from their communities. WITS Workout helps the participants to work in groups and promotes communication and problem-solving skills. The units presented included themes such as TV movies, flowers, birds, stars, and American history. The activity handouts had various activities that included math solving problems, word searches, reviewing constellations, and identifying flowers, birds, or other problem-solving questions with clues included and other brain teasers to encourage participants to creatively think.

Participants’ feedback was very positive on what they had gained from attending WITS Workout sessions. Seven of the participants reported that they had gained friendships by being able to socialize and work with others in the groups. Five participants reported that they gained knowledge shared with others. Monroe County Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent has observed that the activities in the WITS Workout were helpful for the participants to reminisce about their childhood experiences, tell their stories, and enjoy sharing with the groups.

To further support brain health, Monroe County Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent is offering WITS Workout with another program Cooking through the Calendar at the senior centers that has helped to offer participants great ideas for nutritious meals or snacks. Monroe County Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent will continue to offer Wits Workout to the community and continue to work with University of Kentucky Family and Consumer Science specialists and extension colleagues from the University of Illinois to support WITS Workout and enhance evaluation of the program.