How to promote citizens' brain health? Insights from the Global Brain Health Survey on citizens' perceptions of brain health interventions

Brain health is about your mental well-being and the ability to remember, learn, plan and concentrate. The report is based on answers from 27,590 respondents from 81 countries who took part in the Global Brain Health Survey, which asked the public what they would need in order to help improve or maintain their brain health. The survey is the largest worldwide study to date about public perceptions of brain health. The report found that people want clear, evidence-based information about exactly which lifestyle changes can improve their brain health. People also say they would need professional support and regular monitoring or follow-up to track the effect of such changes. The report was written by Lifebrain consortium members at the University of Oslo and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.publishedVersio

Data in question: A survey of European biobank professionals on ethical, legal and societal challenges of biobank research

Source at https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0221496. Biobanks have evolved, and their governance procedures have undergone important transformations. Our paper examines this issue by focusing on the perspective of the professionals working in management or scientific roles in research-based biobanks, who have an important impact on shaping these transformations. In particular, it highlights that recent advances in molecular medicine and genomic research have raised a range of ethical, legal and societal implications (ELSI) related to biobank-based research, impacting directly on regulations and local practices of informed consent (IC), private-public partnerships (PPPs), and engagement of participants. In our study, we investigate the ways that these concerns influence biobanking practices and assess the level of satisfaction of the cross-national biobanking research communities with the ELSI related procedures that are currently in place. We conducted an online survey among biobankers and researchers to investigate secondary use of data, informing and/or re-contacting participants, sharing of data with third parties from industry, participant engagement, and collaboration with industrial partners. Findings highlight the need for a more inclusive and transparent biobanking practice where biobanks are seen in a more active role in providing information and communicating with participants; the need to improve the current IC procedures and the role of biobanks in sharing of samples and data with industry partners and different countries, and the need for practical, tangible and hands-on ethical and legal guidance

People's interest in brain health testing: Findings from an international, online cross-sectional survey

Brain health entails mental wellbeing and cognitive health in the absence of brain disorders. The past decade has seen an explosion of tests, cognitive and biological, to predict various brain conditions, such as Alzheimer's Disease. In line with these current developments, we investigated people's willingness and reasons to—or not to—take a hypothetical brain health test to learn about risk of developing a brain disease, in a cross-sectional multilanguage online survey. The survey was part of the Global Brain Health Survey, open to the public from 4th June 2019 to 31st August 2020. Respondents were largely recruited via European brain councils and research organizations. 27,590 people responded aged 18 years or older and were predominantly women (71%), middle-aged or older (>40 years; 83%), and highly educated (69%). Responses were analyzed to explore the relationship between demographic variables and responses. Results: We found high public interest in brain health testing: over 91% would definitely or probably take a brain health test and 86% would do so even if it gave information about a disease that cannot be treated or prevented. The main reason for taking a test was the ability to respond if one was found to be at risk of brain disease, such as changing lifestyle, seeking counseling or starting treatment. Higher interest in brain health testing was found in men, respondents with lower education levels and those with poor self-reported cognitive health. Conclusion: High public interest in brain health and brain health testing in certain segments of society, coupled with an increase of commercial tests entering the market, is likely to put pressure on public health systems to inform the public about brain health testing in years to come.publishedVersio

How to promote citizens' brain health? Insights from the Global Brain Health Survey on citizens' perceptions of brain health interventions

Brain health is about your mental well-being and the ability to remember, learn, plan and concentrate. The report is based on answers from 27,590 respondents from 81 countries who took part in the Global Brain Health Survey, which asked the public what they would need in order to help improve or maintain their brain health. The survey is the largest worldwide study to date about public perceptions of brain health. The report found that people want clear, evidence-based information about exactly which lifestyle changes can improve their brain health. People also say they would need professional support and regular monitoring or follow-up to track the effect of such changes. The report was written by Lifebrain consortium members at the University of Oslo and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health

How to promote citizens' brain health? Insights from the Global Brain Health Survey on citizens' perceptions of brain health interventions

Brain health is about your mental well-being and the ability to remember, learn, plan and concentrate. The report is based on answers from 27,590 respondents from 81 countries who took part in the Global Brain Health Survey, which asked the public what they would need in order to help improve or maintain their brain health. The survey is the largest worldwide study to date about public perceptions of brain health. The report found that people want clear, evidence-based information about exactly which lifestyle changes can improve their brain health. People also say they would need professional support and regular monitoring or follow-up to track the effect of such changes. The report was written by Lifebrain consortium members at the University of Oslo and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health

Data in question: A survey of European biobank professionals on ethical, legal and societal challenges of biobank research

Biobanks have evolved, and their governance procedures have undergone important transformations. Our paper examines this issue by focusing on the perspective of the professionals working in management or scientific roles in research-based biobanks, who have an important impact on shaping these transformations. In particular, it highlights that recent advances in molecular medicine and genomic research have raised a range of ethical, legal and societal implications (ELSI) related to biobank-based research, impacting directly on regulations and local practices of informed consent (IC), private-public partnerships (PPPs), and engagement of participants. In our study, we investigate the ways that these concerns influence biobanking practices and assess the level of satisfaction of the cross-national biobanking research communities with the ELSI related procedures that are currently in place. We conducted an online survey among biobankers and researchers to investigate secondary use of data, informing and/or re-contacting participants, sharing of data with third parties from industry, participant engagement, and collaboration with industrial partners. Findings highlight the need for a more inclusive and transparent biobanking practice where biobanks are seen in a more active role in providing information and communicating with participants; the need to improve the current IC procedures and the role of biobanks in sharing of samples and data with industry partners and different countries, and the need for practical, tangible and hands-on ethical and legal guidance

Overweight and obesity prevention for and with adolescents: The “Confronting obesity: Co-creating policy with youth” (CO-CREATE) project

The CO-CREATE project focuses on the need for research on obesity prevention in adolescents to move away from studies of single interventions, toward the investigation of systems-based research incorporating youth involvement. This paper provides an overview of the project, presenting the objectives, design, and novel methodologies applied, as well as findings to date and anticipated outcomes. Adolescents (16–18 years old) in five European countries participated. Methods applied in the project include monitoring and benchmarking of policies, systematic literature reviews, epidemiological surveillance, linking observed overweight and obesity trends to observed policy landscapes, group model building to identify perceived drivers of obesity, alliance building with adolescents, dialog with stakeholders, and system dynamics modelling to explore the potential impact of policy options. Outcomes include tools for developing policy ideas and investigation of prevention strategies with adolescents, including policy databases, system maps of drivers of obesity, protocols for organizing youth alliances, an intergenerational policy dialog tool, and system dynamic models exploring the impacts of cocreated policy ideas. These outcomes make an important contribution to building a pan-European infrastructure for designing and evaluating policies and for providing youth with the opportunity to make their voices heard in the development and implementation of obesity prevention measures.publishedVersio