CDC: Make brain health a national priority

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a report detailing the progress of the Healthy Brain Initiative, a project launched by the Healthy Aging Program within the CDC.

The CDC Healthy Brain Initiative: Progress 2006-2011 report focuses on four key goals to foster national awareness of brain health: Improvements in surveillance and detection, advocacy in public policy, better communication of brain health issues, and the support of prevention research.

The report shares its lessons learned over the past five years since the initiative began, and offers a list of priority actions to bring cognitive health into the forefront of public awareness and healthcare policy. The report’s recommendations include forming a national objective to promote cognitive health as a wellness goal and to increase public awareness of the lifestyle choices that can affect brain health. The report also urges national associations to educate the public on factors that can promote brain health, or even delay the deterioration associated with aging and some cognitive diseases.

When the initiative began in 2007, Alzheimer’s disease was the 7^th leading cause of death among American adults. Today, it is the #5 killer of those age 65 and older.

Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.