REPORT OF ACTIVITY: BRAIN HEALTH AND HEALTHY AGEING OUTREACH RCCG-NCG OFFICERS RETREAT 2024

September 24th, 2024

Executive Summary

This is the 5th in series of our medical outreach. The healthy ageing advocacy component of the GWAF intervention in the realm of Alzheimer’s /Dementia continues to grow its reach. GWAF reached over 250 men and women at the RCCG National Church Growth Officers 2024 retreat held on Wednesday, May 1th 2024 at The Comfort Palace (near Holiness Road) Redemption Camp, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

At the invitation of the organizer, GWAF conducted sensitization and awareness activities on Dementia and on general health with an emphasis on the process of ageing. Our non-profit organization also carried out screenings for risk factors for brain health.

Though Alzheimer’s Disease (a type of Dementia), is not limited to elders, it afflicts the ageing in disproportionate numbers. As we join the fight to prevent, manage and ultimately, treat it, an emphasis on this demographic is justified. A healthy brain is linked to several risk factors such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, smoking and periodontal disease. The identification and treatment of these disorders are important in the fight against Alzheimer’s for those who seek to keep the disease at bay. It is crucial to remember that the overall health of persons living with Alzheimer’s, impacts on the delivery of care and on the management of the disease. The GWAF Healthy Ageing Advocacy & Outreach helps advance our first constitutional objective which is to create awareness about Alzheimer’s Disease (a type of Dementia), in all its facets, from every key perspective.

Partners:

Lagos State College of Nursing (LASCON)
RCCG-National Church Growth Officers
Gabi Williams Alzheimer’s Foundation

Activities

Screening
Health Talks and Q&A

Screening

Screenings for lifestyle-related risk factors of brain health were conducted in a systematic and orderly way by volunteer students of LASCON under the supervision of 2 LASCON officers. About 250 people were reached through the program

189 people (overwhelmingly male) were successfully screened at the event. As an added component, about 40 people benefited from free dental screening carried out by Faces 'n' Braces Dental Clinic.

Health Talk and Q&A

The sessions cut across common issues around Dementia and the health of people at all levels delivered by our experienced resource persons. They were clear, informative and engaging.
The topics were:
Ageing Gracefully by Dr. Weniyu Alli
Dementia & Alzheimer’s by Dr. Oziegbe Oghide

Each session lasted about 40 minutes and took place at intervals during the day-long Church retreat program. The audience was fully engaged. The presentation was followed by a Q &A session coordinated by Ms. Olatoun Gabi-Williams, GWAF trustee, with the speakers responding to the questions with great professionalism. They were also happy to answer questions which fell outside the scope of their presentations. The Q&A session was robust and educative.
Reports of the screening were handed over to the organizers who were encouraged to follow up on people that had been identified as requiring medical intervention.

Areas of challenge

The activity was well-managed and well-arranged. This was due to the timely arrival of every team member including the speakers. The RCCG -NCGO team also helped by organizing participants in a pre-numbered attendance record before the arrival of the GWAF team which eliminated logistical challenges.

Conclusion

The GWAF Healthy Ageing Advocacy and Outreach was professionally delivered and very successful.
Below is the graphical summary representation of the examinations conducted Report Activities 2024

Note
From the above graphs, screening for (BMI) which included over-weight, under-weight and obesity; had the highest frequency: 87 cases. Blood Pressure (BP) had 51 cases and Blood Sugar (Fbs) had only 5 cases.
In all, 143 out of the 250 attendees screened (which represents 53.2 % of the population) were observed to have predisposing factors. This indicates that half of the population of the participants need to attend to their health in the examined areas.

Peter Olaniyan, Senior Officer Reporting