What does cognitive health education for the elderly include?

The core of cognitive health education for the elderly is practical knowledge and skills covering the full cycle of cognitive health, from early prevention and early screening to care and adjustment after illness. All content is designed around the principle of "understandable and applicable", and there is no empty theory.

If you often go to the community to do science popularization, you will know that the first thing to clarify is the difference between "normal forgetfulness" and "abnormal decline". This is also where many elderly people and their family members are most likely to go to extremes: either they are scared to death as soon as they forget their keys and feel that they are going to suffer from Alzheimer's disease, or they think that "it is normal for people to get confused when they are old" and delay going to the doctor until their family members can no longer recognize them. The best period of intervention has long been missed. Last time I met a 62-year-old Aunt Zhang at a community free clinic. She kept forgetting to turn off the fire for half a month and couldn't remember her grandson's school time. Her family thought she had dementia and asked her to be screened. After asking her, they found out that her son and daughter-in-law had recently been on a business trip. She was alone with her two children and couldn't sleep well. After adjusting her schedule, her forgetfulness improved. In fact, it was benign fatigue-induced forgetfulness. At present, the academic community has not reached a unified conclusion on whether "subjective cognitive decline" is considered a high-risk signal. Some studies believe that as long as the elderly self-perceived memory is significantly worse, it is an early warning. Some believe that it must be combined with the results of objective scale screening. We will not give an absolute warning when doing science popularization. The judgment criteria will only teach you to remember a few key warning signs: For example, you have forgotten the meal you just had, you can't name your old neighbor who has been with you for decades, and you can't settle the bill when you buy things. If this situation lasts for more than 3 months, don't hesitate to go to a neurologist for a checkup. It is more effective than guessing at home.

Cognitive decline is like loose teeth. If you intervene early, it may not develop to the extent that it affects your life. Therefore, the largest proportion of health education is practical methods to delay decline. Many old people ask about brain supplements when they first come up. In fact, we rarely talk about these. We talk about small daily habits that don’t cost money: such as taking 20 minutes a day to read the newspaper aloud, playing chess with an old friend, or learning a new hobby. Last year, our community organized a smartphone editing class for the elderly. A dozen old men and women followed it for three months. At the end of the year, the cognitive function scale was retested and the average score was 4.7 points higher than before. The effect is much more reliable than those highly touted brain supplements. Of course, there is now a lot of controversy about the usefulness of commercial brain training products. Some scholars say that they are all IQ taxes, which can only improve the performance of the training program itself, but are useless for overall cognitive function. Some studies believe that long-term and regular personalized training does have a delaying effect. When we popularize science, we will only recommend daily training that does not cost extra money, and will not give any commercial products a platform, so as to save everyone from stepping into the trap.

If cognitive impairment has been diagnosed, the focus of health education turns to care and quality of life maintenance. I met a family member before. The elderly man in the family had moderate cognitive impairment. He always wanted to go back to his old house decades ago. The family members locked the door for fear that he would get lost. As a result, the elderly man became more violent and even threw the bowl at home. We taught them to sew a label with the name and family phone number on the old man's clothes, put more old photos and old furniture in the house, and chat with him more about going to the countryside and working when he was young. This can greatly reduce agitation, which is much better than locking him up. Nowadays, there are different opinions on the concept of care for the elderly with cognitive impairment. Some scholars advocate that the elderly should maintain their ability to live independently as much as possible. Even if they eat and dress slowly, or fall occasionally, don't do it all for them. If possible, try to retain their functions. ； Some family members also think that the safety of the elderly is the most important, and they help with everything. When we do science popularization, we will clearly explain the pros and cons of both options, and will not force everyone to choose which one. After all, every family's situation is different, and what suits them is the best.