Public Health.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Indigenous Health
• Dementia Prevention

Background:

• Culturally appropriate brain health promotion materials for Indigenous people in Canada are lacking.
• Canada's National Dementia Strategy prioritizes brain health promotion and dementia prevention for Indigenous populations.
• There is an urgent need for strengths-based, culturally specific brain health materials grounded in Indigenous knowledge systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adapt the Brain Health Pro program for a Métis context in Alberta, Canada.
• To understand how to make brain health promotion materials culturally relevant and accessible to Métis communities.
• To address gaps in health inequities by developing appropriate brain health resources.

Main Methods:

• Integrated knowledge translation was used for developing and implementing brain health promotion materials.
• Métis visiting methodology (Keeoukaywin) facilitated interviews to allow for theme emergence.
• Data was co-analyzed using Indigenous approaches to thematic qualitative analysis.

Main Results:

• Twenty Métis individuals in Alberta participated in 63 interviews.
• Participants found the current Brain Health Pro content and delivery inappropriate for Métis people.
• Key themes included Western dominance in brain health content, lack of Métis Ways of Knowing, need for non-virtual options, and desire for holistic risk reduction strategies.

Conclusions:

• The developed materials will be adapted for wider dissemination in other Indigenous contexts.
• The methodology can be applied internationally for culturally specific dementia care interventions for Indigenous and underrepresented populations.
• This work supports the development of locally driven, culturally specific health promotion for diverse communities.