Self-Reported Behavior Change and Predictors of Engagement With a Multidomain Brain Health Intervention for Midlife and Older Adults: A Pilot Clinical Trial

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the efficacy of a multidomain brain health intervention on health behavior change and sought to understand whether health literacy or brain health knowledge predicted engagement with the intervention. METHODS: One-hundred thirty midlife and older adults were assigned to one of three intervention conditions: brain fitness (B-Fit) utilizing education and goal setting, education-only, or waitlist. Questionnaires were completed at baseline and post-intervention. RESULTS: Both B-Fit and education-only conditions reported improvements in health behaviors over time. Although effect size for the education-only condition was moderate, only the B-Fit condition differed significantly in health behaviors from the waitlist post-intervention. Lower baseline brain health knowledge predicted improvements in health behaviors for education-only condition. DISCUSSION: The multidomain brain health intervention was successful in helping participants change their behaviors, but it was not more effective than the education-only condition. For those with lower brain health knowledge, an education-only intervention may be sufficient to encourage behavior change.