Dr Lidan Zheng

MyCOACH: Connected Advice for Cognitive Health

What is the MyCOACH Trial about?

This research aims to test the effectiveness of an e-learning and behaviour change course designed to support healthy brain ageing and reduce risk of dementia. The course is tailored for people experiencing changes or concerns in thinking, memory or cognition.  The trial runs for 12 weeks, with a follow up 1 year afterwards.

What is involved in this research trial?

Interested volunteers will be asked to complete some eligibility checks to confirm this study is a good match. If you decide to take part you would be placed into one of two groups. To ensure the research is fair and unbiased, the group is chosen randomly – like pulling names from a hat.

• MyCOACH e-learning group: Participants take part in the 12 week online MyCOACH program. This includes e- learning, consultations with a dietician and/or exercise physiologist, and subscription to a brain training app.

• Control group: Participants will receive information about cognitive health and risk factors for dementia. This group is important to be able to measure the effectiveness of the research. At the end of the study, access to the full MyCOACH e-learning course will be provided.

• All participants take part in a few telephone interviews throughout the study with questions about your health. This includes a follow-up at the end of the 12 week period, and 1 year later.

You may be eligible to participate in the MyCOACH Trial if you:

• Have concerns about changes in your memory or thinking OR diagnosed with ‘Mild Cognitive Impairment’
• Are 65 years of age or older

Expressions of interest

If you are interested, or know someone who might be, please register below or contact us directly.

Research Team Contact 

Dinaz Parekh

Email: mycoach@neura.edu.au

Phone: (02) 9399 1815

The General Practice Knowledge Translation (GP-KT) project

The General Practice Knowledge Translation (GP-KT) project is an online survey designed to help us understand what people already know about dementia risk and dementia risk reduction in frontline healthcare settings.

In particular we are keen to understand the barriers that might delay or prevent dementia risk reduction activities so that we can work to reduce these over time.

At the moment we are recruiting Australian General practitioners and their teams. International versions are the survey are also in development.

NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Cognitive Health

The Centre of Research Excellence in Cognitive Health focuses on the integrally linked areas of optimising cognitive health and the prevention of cognitive decline.

The centre aims to:

• Build the evidence base in cognitive health promotion and prevention of cognitive decline, focussing on evaluating putative new risks and under researched areas
• Develop methods of transferring, translating and implementing established findings, through the development and evaluation of interventions
• Model population level impacts of cognitive impairment and risk modification to quantify potential economic benefits of risk reduction and to inform policy.

The CRE Cognitive Health led by Professor Kaarin Anstey is a collaboration between Chief and Associate Investigators from the Australian National University, University of Melbourne, University of New South Wales, Australian Catholic University, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute and University of Exeter.

For more information about the CRE Cognitive Health, please visit the centre website, including more information on research themes, news and events, and recent publications.

The CRE Cognitive Health is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council.

The Dementia Risk Factors and Assessment (DemRisk) program

The Dementia Risk Factors and Assessment (DemRisk) program involves over ten years of research performed by the Anstey group on the identification and assessment of risk factors for Dementia.

The DemRisk program includes:

• Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of dementia risk and protective factors
• Analysis of cohort studies to identify dementia risk and protective factors
• Development of evidence-based interventions for dementia risk reduction
• Development of innovative e-learning resources to support dementia risk reduction
• Development of risk assessment tools validated for assessing individual exposure to risk factors known to be associated with an increased risk of developing dementia
• Development of guidelines (e.g. physical activity guidelines) to reduce risk of cognitive decline and dementia in collaboration with other researchers and organisations including the World Health Organisation
• Training of early career researchers with a focus on identifying and targeting dementia risk

Read Professor Kaarin Anstey and Dr Ruth Peters’ recent invited commentary on second-hand smoke as an under-recognised risk factor for cognitive decline here. You can also watch Professor Anstey’s NeuRAtalk on ageing well to reduce your risk of dementia here.

NHMRC Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration

The NHMRC Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration (DCRC) was established in 2006 under the Australian Government’s Dementia Initiative.  DCRC projects are diverse and map onto the priorities of the NHMRC National Network for Dementia Research (NNIDR). A key focus is applied research on topics meaningful to people with dementia and their family carers.

There are three DCRC hubs located at UNSW, NeuRA and QUT, respectively. The three-hub framework aims to grow partnerships and strengthen ties with consumers and service providers, Dementia Training Australia and Dementia Support Australia in order to progress prevention, assessment, care and translation of knowledge into everyday practice, as well as building the next generation of dementia researchers.

The primary focus of the DCRC NeuRA hub is risk reduction and prevention including individual, community and population-based interventions targeting lifestyle risk factors for dementia.

The flagship project of the DCRC NeuRA hub is the International Research Network on Dementia Prevention (IRNDP). Founded in 2017, the IRNDP is a multinational network bringing together researchers who are working to reduce the risk of dementia across the world. For more information on the network, visit the IRNDP website, including news and updates, an evidence hub on cohort studies, an evidence synthesis on clinical trials, and information on how to join.

The DCRC is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council.