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IA2 highlights new Healthy Brain Initiative roadmap tailored for American Indian and Alaska Native communities
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Summary
The International Association for Indigenous Aging described its role in developing the second‑edition Healthy Brain Initiative Roadmap for American Indian and Alaska Native peoples, produced with the Alzheimer’s Association and CDC, and urged use of the roadmap in tribal public‑health planning.
WASHINGTON — Megan Dicken, public‑health and aging associate at the International Association for Indigenous Aging (IA2) and an enrolled member of the United Houma Nation, told the LTSS subcommittee that IA2 contributed to a new, culturally tailored edition of the Healthy Brain Initiative Roadmap for American Indian and Alaska Native peoples.
IA2 helped convene listening sessions with Indigenous community representatives and added culturally meaningful stories and imagery, Dicken said, and the updated roadmap — developed with the Alzheimer’s Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — provides community‑focused, actionable steps to improve brain health and dementia care in Native communities. “Native Americans experience dementia and other chronic conditions at a much higher rate than the national average,” Dicken said.
Dicken said more than 200 American Indian and Alaska Native community members and public‑health professionals contributed to the second edition and urged stakeholders to use the document in tribal health planning. The roadmap and related resources are available on IA2’s website and via the Alzheimer’s Association and CDC websites, she said.
Ending: Dicken encouraged attendees to consult IA2’s resources and the updated roadmap as jurisdictions develop culturally appropriate public‑health strategies for brain health in Native communities.
