New Precision Dementia Prevention Program to connect Ottawa residents with personalized brain health support

A new partnership between The Ottawa Hospital and Ottawa Public Health (OPH) is bringing personalized dementia prevention directly to the community through the launch of the Precision Dementia Prevention Program. 

Supported by a $1 million grant from the Public Health Agency of Canada, this initiative focuses on empowering individuals to understand their unique risk factors and connecting them with local services tailored to their specific needs.

Proven foundation, local impact

This program builds on a highly successful, validated dementia risk calculator that has been accessed over 900,000 times since 2021. By integrating this evidence-based tool into OPH’s Neighbourhood Health and Wellness Hubs, the team is moving from digital assessment to direct community action. 

“This is personalized prevention to connect people in Ottawa to services based on their specific needs,” said Dr. Douglas Manuel, senior scientist at The Ottawa Hospital, distinguished professor at the University of Ottawa and a family physician. “Our goal is to move beyond informing people of the risk of dementia to provide a direct link to the resources available to them.”

“When individuals use the dementia calculator at OPH hubs, our staff will be there to help connect them with dementia prevention and support resources in the community,” said Dr. Alysha Ahmed, Associate Medical Officer of Health at Ottawa Public Health. “We hope to reach a wide range of older adults, especially women, Francophones, and culturally diverse communities.”

Research, development and broader implementation

The underlying technology was developed by Dr. Stacey Fisher, postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Manuel’s team, using data from over 75,000 Ontarians via the Canadian Community Health Survey. This data, accessed through ICES uOttawa, ensures the program is grounded in robust Canadian health insights. The data shows, for example, that 14 modifiable risk factors are linked to up to 45 per cent of dementia cases. 

Following implementation in Ottawa, the team will develop tools to support implementation and dissemination to municipalities and community-based organizations across Canada. 

The core team includes members of The Ottawa Hospital (Doug Manuel, Stacey Fisher, Sarah Beach, Carol Bennett) and Ottawa Public Health (Alysha Ahmed, Erinn Salewski, Emily Coja and Karim Mekki) as well as patient partner Mary Cavanagh. 

“I recently used the dementia calculator and was surprised to learn how many different aspects of my health are relevant,” said Cavanagh, a retired professor of library and information sciences. “I can see clearly now what I need to pay more attention to as I move into my older years. I can also see the benefits of integrating this tool with community supports.”

In addition to Ottawa Public Health, key community collaborators include the Alzheimer Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories, the Dementia Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County and the Bruyère Research Institute.

The dementia risk calculator was originally developed with funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, with additional funding provided by the Brain Heart Interconnectome. Dr. Manuel also holds a University of Ottawa Tier 1 Clinical Research Chair in Precision Medicine for Disease Prevention and leads the TD AI in Medicine (AIM) Hub at The Ottawa Hospital. He is also affiliated with Bruyère Research Institute.