GenWell-BRAVE (Australia)

The intergenerational Wellbeing and Brain-Healthy Lifestyles Intervention (GenWell-BRAVE): A Feasibility Pilot

GenWell-BRAVE is a trial within a trial. Re-randomising the control sites of the INTEGRITY trial, it compares the effects of two versions of a multidomain intervention. The primary outcome of this pilot is change in cognition, and it also investigates intervention feasibility, as well as mental health in adults and emotion regulation in children.

Aim of the project

The objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and estimate the impact of including interventions to enhance wellbeing in a multi-domain intergenerational practice program – where the program targets improved dementia risk profiles in community-dwelling older adults.

Location

Local setting

GenWell-BRAVE is a trial within a trial, and an ancillary of the “INTErGenerational intervention to Reduce frailty trial (INTEGRITY).” It re-randomises INTEGRITY control sites, recruits from the existing pool of participants, and implements a new cluster-randomised design to compare two versions of a multi-domain intervention.

Organizations involved

The George Institute for Global Health, Australia, and the University of New South Wales, Australia

Principal Investigator (PI)

Dr. Mei Ling Lim, The George Institute for Global Health

Research team

The George Institute for Global Health:
April Mallon
Dr. Ruth Peters
Dr. Amy Sparks
Dr. Shannon Jarrott
Dr. Katie Harris

Duration of the intervention

Project start date

Project end date

Current stage of the project

Data collection ongoing

Number of study participants

Target population

Community-dwelling adults aged 65 years or more and preschool children aged 3-4 years

Primary outcome

Change in cognition (NIH Toolbox) in older adults

Secondary outcomes

Feasibility measures:

• Adherence
• Retention
• Implementation fidelity
• Acceptability

In adults:

• Positive mental health

In children:

• Emotion regulation

Exploratory outcomes

In adults:

• Dementia risk score
• MoCA
• Emotion regulation
• Resilience

In children:

• Emotional and behavioural attributes
• Measure of empathy in early childhood

Additional qualitative and observational data collection.

Intervention

The intervention involves a structured 20-week program of group-based intergenerational sessions, where older adults and preschool children are brought together within each participating preschool. Participants attend one 2-hour session each week. The sessions are developed to stimulate activity in the following domains:

Domains:

• Physical activity
• Cognitive engagement
• Social engagement
• Healthy diet
• (Wellbeing – Intervention group only)

The use of the intergenerational context aims to deliver multi-domain intervention in an accessible and community-embedded way. The intervention group specifically adds wellbeing focused intervention to explore its impact on health outcomes. The control group receives the intervention targeting physical activity, cognitive engagement, social engagement, and healthy diet only.

Results

Results have not yet been published.

Acknowledgements

This trial leverages funding from the INTEGRITY Trial, which is provided by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).