Equity-centered dementia prevention: lessons from a community-embedded intergenerational model
Frontiers in dementia
Front Dement. 2026 Sep 17;5:1823303. doi: 10.3389/frdem.2026.1823303. eCollection 2026.
ABSTRACT
Dementia prevention requires policies that address upstream, modifiable risk factors-particularly loneliness, depressed mood, and low social participation-which disproportionately affect linguistically diverse and historically marginalized communities. This Perspective argues that linguistic inclusion, cultural responsiveness, and trust-building practices should be treated as core quality domains in dementia prevention policy and delivery. We describe the Multimodal Intergenerational Social Contact Intervention (MISCI), a community-embedded program designed to reduce loneliness and depressed mood-established risk factors for dementia-through culturally meaningful intergenerational engagement. While MISCI outcomes are limited to feasibility, acceptability, and descriptive trends, we integrate these findings with existing literature to derive policy and systems recommendations. These include reimbursement pathways for social connection interventions, strengthened language access standards, equity-stratified reporting, and cross-sector partnerships. Aligning policy mechanisms with community-embedded programs may support scalable, culturally responsive approaches to reducing dementia risk while advancing health equity.
