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Brain Health, Cognitive Impairment, ADRD


The GSA KAER Toolkit for Brain Health and numerous other resources addressing Alzheimer’s disease, related dementias, and a variety of symptoms associated with neurological conditions, including pseudobulbar affect and dementia-related psychosis, are available to support improved care for older adults across the care continuum.


  • GSA KAER Toolkit for Primary Care Teams: Supporting Conversations About Brain Health, Timely Detection of Cognitive Impairment, and Accurate Diagnosis of Dementia (2020)

    The GSA KAER Toolkit is intended to support primary care teams in implementing a comprehensive approach to initiating conversations about brain health, detecting and diagnosing dementia, and providing individuals with community-based supports. It includes practical approaches, educational resources, and validated clinical tools that teams can integrate into their workflow. 

    Click here to view a scrollable version of this publication.

    For more details on how to use the KAER Toolkit, click here.

    To learn about the recent KAER Toolkit updates, click here.

    Support provided by Eli Lilly and Company, Otsuka, Genentech, and Eisai.

  • Addressing Brain Health in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities

    In this Momentum Discussion Podcast episode, our guest shares challenges and opportunities around brain health in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. He provides insights into the Healthy Brain Initiative’s Road Map for Indian Country and discusses success stories with indigenous communities addressing dementia issues. Finally, he outlines research questions that need to be answered to successfully address brain health in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

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    Additional Resources:


    This podcast episode is supported by Genetech, Lily, Eisai, and Otsuka.


  • Addressing Brain Health in Adults With Intellectual Disabilities and Developmental Disabilities

    Addressing Brain Health in Adults With Intellectual Disabilities and Developmental Disabilities: A Companion to the KAER Toolkit for Primary Care Providers is designed to address the needs of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) who develop dementia. This companion document complements the GSA KAER Toolkit for Primary Care Teams 

    Support provided by Eisai.

  • Addressing Brain Health in Adults with Intellectual Disabilities and Developmental Disabilities

    Certain groups of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) develop dementia at rates similar to older adults in the general population. However, adults with certain conditions, such as Down syndrome, develop Alzheimer's disease at greater rates. During this Momentum Discussion podcast episode, our guest discusses this issue and provides an overview of unique challenges in assessing for dementia in individuals with I/DD. She discusses strategies that primary care teams and others can use from the GSA publication, Addressing Brain Health in Adults with Intellectual Disabilities and Developmental Disabilities: A Companion to the KAER Toolkit for Primary Care Providers, to improve detection of dementia and care and services for adults with I/DD.

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    For more information on speakers of this session, visit podbean for details.

    This podcast episode is supported by Eisai.

  • Nonpharmacological Strategies to Support Behaviors Experienced by People Living with Dementia

    Most individuals with dementia experience behavioral symptoms during their disease trajectory. These symptoms are troubling to the person living with dementia, their care partners, and others such as family members or those living in congregate living settings. In this Momentum Discussion Podcast episode, Dr. Kalisha Bonds Johnson, a Board-Certified Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner at Emory Integrated Memory Care, shares her insights into the importance of detecting and addressing behavioral symptoms. She offers general strategies that care partners and others can take when interacting with someone with dementia, and she provides important insights into managing specific troubling behaviors.

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    For more information on speakers of this session, visit podbean for details.

    This podcast episode is supported by Genentech, Lily, Eisai, and Otsuka.

  • Kickstarting Brain Health Conversations about LGBTQ+ Older Adults

    In this Momentum Discussion podcast episode, Dan Stewart, MSG, Long-Term Care Equality Index program co-lead and associate director of the Aging Equality Project at the HRC Foundation, discusses considerations aimed at ensuring equitable and person-centered care for individuals in the LGBTQ+ community and ensuring LGBTQ+ inclusion in the healthcare. He provides insights into unique challenges around brain health, dementia, and aging for individuals in the LGBTQ+ community and shares key insights into the combined challenges of being LGBTQ+ and having dementia.

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    For more information on speakers of this session, visit podbean for details.

    This podcast episode is supported by Genentech, Lily, Eisai, and Otsuka.

  • Kickstarting Brain Health Conversations with Diverse Older Adults: A Discussion with Dr. Carl Hill

    In this Momentum Discussion podcast episode, Dr. Carl V. Hill, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at the Alzheimer's Association provides insights into race, ethnicity, and Alzheimer's in America and shares information about barriers and facilitators to quality dementia care for all populations. He discusses how to successfully engage in dementia risk reduction conversations with people from diverse backgrounds and shares examples of successful collaborations aimed at improving access to information about dementia and brain health.

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    For more information on speakers of this session, visit podbean for details.

    This podcast episode is supported by Genentech, Lilly, Eisai, and Otsuka.

  • Detecting and Addressing Agitation in Alzheimer’s Disease: Improving Lives for Older Adults and their Caregivers

    In this Momentum Discussion podcast episode, interprofessional experts from Emory Integrated Memory Care discuss the common neuropsychiatric condition of agitation in Alzheimer's disease (AAD) and how it impacts individuals living with Alzheimer's and their caregivers. They discuss challenges to detecting AAD and share how detecting and treating this common symptom can improve quality of life for older adults and their caregivers. Finally, they discuss the Agitation in Alzheimer’s Screener for Caregivers (AASCTM), a new tool released during the 2023 GSA Annual Scientific Meeting, with which clinicians can screen for AAD in just one minute. More information about the AASCTM is available online at theaasc.com.

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    For more information on speakers of this session, visit podbean for details.

    This podcast episode is supported by Otsuka. 

  • GSA Momentum Discussions Podcast: Agitation in Alzheimer's Disease: Reflections of a Care Partner

    Agitation can be described as increased, often undirected, motor activity, restlessness, aggressiveness, and emotional distress. It may include nonaggressive behaviors such as pacing, repetitious movements, and general restlessness, or it may manifest as physically or verbally aggressive behaviors. It is one of the most distressing behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, and between 30% and 80% of people living with dementia, depending on the setting, experience agitation. Because of the wide-ranging potential negative impacts associated with agitation in Alzheimer’s disease (AAD), a person-centered, individualized approach to address AAD is a must. In this Momentum Discussion Podcast episode, we provide insights into AAD from the perspective of a professional caregiver and a family member whose loved one lives with AAD. They share how the condition impacts the person with Alzheimer’s disease and those around them and offer strategies to prevent and address troubling behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia associated with AAD. 

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    For more information on speakers of this session, visit podbean for details.

    This podcast episode is supported by Otsuka. Content was developed by Gerontological Society of America (GSA).

  • Understanding Agitation in Alzheimer's Disease Infographic

    This infographic highlights key information from the publication, Insights & Implications in Gerontology: Agitation in Alzheimer's Disease. 

    Support provided by Otsuka.