Indiana University School of Public Health - Bloomington
Adapting Green Activity Prescriptions with People Living with Dementia
Dr. Lassell is an assistant professor at Indiana University's School of Public Health-Bloomington and an affiliated scientist at the Regenstrief Institute, IU Center for Aging Research. Dr. Lassell seeks to design interventions to improve brain health and advance health equity in dementia care. Her research focuses on bridging the gap between community resources and health care systems to enable people living with dementia (PLWD) and their care partners (CPs) to participate in health promoting activities they find meaningful within their homes, neighborhoods, and communities. Dr. Lassell's research focus grew from applying nature-based approaches in her clinical outpatient pediatric practice and her work with PLWD in long-term care. Her research interests include exercise and lifestyle medicine, gerontology, and advancing health equity.
Sedentary behavior, stress, and social isolation are risk factors associated with accelerated cognitive decline. Green prescriptions, which prescribe nature activities to promote an active lifestyle and improve well-being, are one way to mitigate these risk factors. This Career Development Award will build upon Dr. Lassell’s previous work developing and adapting Nurturing Aging Through Uplifting-activity in Restorative Environments (NATURE) intervention to promote an active lifestyle in high-risk urban individuals with dementia in New York and Indiana. This project will expand the NATURE program to include another high-risk population, rural adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This Award will provide Dr. Lassell with the necessary mentorship and training to 1) gain expertise in recruitment and retention approaches for rural adults with MCI in non-clinical trial research, and to 2) develop knowledge in adapting and refining Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) interventions to lay a strong foundation for pragmatic trials. This training will support the following Specific Aims: 1) Identify health challenges, assets, and potential solutions for being active outdoors among rural older adults with MCI and supplement an ongoing feasibility study to 2) Assess the factors that influence acceptability in urban participants with MCI and AD/ADRD and care partners who completed NATURE. This work will prepare Dr. Lassell to lead interventional research as an independent investigator and lay the foundation to test NATURE in a pilot randomized controlled trial and a future ePCT to improve well-being in racially and ethnically diverse people living with dementia and their care partners.