The Chinese-Think Brain Health community intervention for dementia prevention in the UK: from theoretical cultural adaptation to evaluation

People from different ethnic minorities in the UK are experiencing a steeper increase in dementia diagnosis compared to their white counterparts but are more likely to have a higher risk of dementia, to be diagnosed at a younger age and to die earlier from the condition. These disparities suggest the need for urgent interventions to prevent and reduce dementia risk. Despite the significant presence of Chinese people in the UK, there has been little dementia research involving them, so this study is the first in the UK to focus on Chinese communities living in five major cities. Using a cultural adaptation theoretical framework, we adapted Alzheimer's Research UK's virtual dementia prevention campaign Think Brain Health to meet the needs of Chinese people. We used a mixed methods approach to evaluate knowledge of dementia and brain health activities, and intention regarding help-seeking. We performed descriptive, chi-square and thematic analysis; 54 Chinese people completed the intervention, with 85 per cent aged over 60 years. Over half (56%) could not speak, read or write in English. Our results showed significant improvements in knowledge of dementia and brain health, and an improved intention to seek help and information. All participants reported a positive experience of the culturally tailored intervention and valued working with dementia researchers who were able to deliver the intervention in Chinese languages. Future work involving Chinese communities in the UK will need to identify an appropriate but non-stigmatizing Chinese term for dementia.

Citation

Lim, J.N.W., Champ, M.Z. and Cheston, R. (2025) The Chinese-Think Brain Health community intervention for dementia prevention in the UK: from theoretical cultural adaptation to evaluation. Ageing and Society, 45 (11), pp. 2452-2475. doi:10.1017/S0144686X25100159

Type

Journal article

Language

en

Description

© 2025 The Authors. Published by Cambridge University Press. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ageing-and-society/article/chinesethink-brain-health-community-intervention-for-dementia-prevention-in-the-uk-from-theoretical-cultural-adaptation-to-evaluation/6494135D16CA3CCA15AD767C71618199

ISSN

0144-686X

EISSN

1469-1779

Collections

Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing