ABSTRACT

Objectives

Older immigrants of Latin American descent are disproportionately impacted by dementia, yet little is known about their dementia- and brain health-related knowledge. We explored perspectives on brain health and aging in this population to inform the development of culturally-relevant interventions.

Methods

Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 Spanish-speaking immigrants over 60. Questions addressed knowledge about the brain, perceptions of healthy and unhealthy aging, ideas of how to take care of one’s brain, and where knowledge was acquired. Responses were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results

The following themes emerged: (1) Descriptions of the brain varied, from anatomy, cognition, and psychology to disease. (2) Perceptions of healthy aging included independence, memory, emotions, and orientation. (3) Ideas of how to care for the brain included physical, social, and cognitive engagement. (4) Knowledge was acquired in childhood, communities, healthcare settings, careers, and media.

Conclusions

Results showed significant variability in knowledge. Findings may be leveraged to improve interventions that address brain health literacy disparities among older Latin American immigrants.

Clinical Implications

Takeaways involve increasing education about the structure and functions of the brain, promoting realistic understandings of what nonnormative brain aging entails, and increasing knowledge of empirically-supported maintenance approaches. Dissemination may be increased via healthcare providers, community centers, churches, and media.

中文翻译：

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拉丁美洲移民对大脑健康和衰老的看法和知识获取：一篇定性论文

摘要

目标

拉丁美洲血统的年长移民受到痴呆症的影响尤为严重，但人们对他们的痴呆症和大脑健康相关知识知之甚少。我们探讨了这一人群的大脑健康和衰老的观点，以告知与文化相关的干预措施的发展。

方法

对 30 名 60 岁以上的讲西班牙语的移民进行了个人半结构化访谈。问题涉及有关大脑的知识、对健康和不健康衰老的看法、如何照顾大脑的想法以及从何处获得知识。使用主题分析来分析响应。

结果

出现了以下主题：(1) 对大脑的描述多种多样，从解剖学、认知、心理学到疾病。(2) 对健康老龄化的看法包括独立性、记忆力、情绪和定向力。(3) 关于如何照顾大脑的想法包括身体、社会和认知参与。(4) 知识是在童年、社区、医疗机构、职业和媒体中获得的。

结论

结果显示知识存在显着差异。研究结果可用于改进解决老年拉丁美洲移民大脑健康素养差异的干预措施。

临床意义

要点包括增加关于大脑结构和功能的教育，促进对非正常大脑老化的现实理解，以及增加对经验支持的维护方法的了解。可以通过医疗保健提供者、社区中心、教堂和媒体增加传播。