Hope for Dementia is pleased to announce the launch of the Busy Box. Better Brain. Program. that supports the cognitive health of English-speaking seniors in Québec. The program combines education and recreation to promote dementia prevention.
Starting in summer 2023, seniors will have access to kits filled with items – iPads, tablets, hobby kits, magazines, board games, puzzles, and more – giving seniors the opportunity to acquire and use new skills, while socializing with other seniors.
With the help and guidance of animators and volunteers in the Senior Wellness Centres of the Community Health and Social Services Network, seniors will learn new software applications, acquire new recreational skills of their choice, and be more informed about the specific ways in which they can reduce their risks of cognitive decline.
- Research has shown that the memory of older people is improved when they are engaged in new activities that are cognitively demanding or when new skills are acquired.
The current trend of increasing numbers of people living with dementia has been likened to a tsunami that affects all aspects of life, everywhere in the world, in Canada and in Quebec.
- According to the Quebec Federation of Alzheimer Societies, 360,000 Quebecers will be living with dementia by 2050, an increase of 145% compared to 2020.
Hope for Dementia believes that the trajectory can be reversed if appropriate prevention strategies are widely implemented.
The Busy Box. Better Brain. program was developed by Hope for Dementia and will be deployed in partnership with the Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN). The program is funded by the Secretariat aux relations avec les Québecois d’expression anglaise (SQREA).
