Abstract
BACKGROUND: With the deepening of population aging, the disease burden associated with brain health in older adults is increasingly severe. To develop targeted strategies for promoting brain health among older adults, it is essential to first understand their awareness of brain health as well as their motivations and barriers to health promotion. This study aims to explore older adults' cognition and attitudes toward brain health, along with their needs and preferences regarding brain health promotion. METHODS: Individual, face-to-face and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 older adults from Zhengzhou, Henan Province. Questions, used in our study, focused perception of brain health, attitudes and beliefs toward brain health promotion, and needs and preferences regarding brain health promotion. Responses were analyzed using inductive qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: The following themes and sub-themes were identified: (1) Multidimensional yet compartmentalized brain health perceptions, including physiological function, disease association, psychological well-being, behavioral coordination; (2) Diverse attitudes toward brain health promotion, including proactive prevention, cognitive-behavioral dissonance, fatalistic neglect; (3) Intrinsic motivators for brain health promotion, including health awareness, quality of life, family responsibility, disease-related anxiety; (4) External support as a moderating factor in brain health promotion, including family support, peer support, community support; (5) Barriers to brain health promotion activities, including physical limitations, role conflict, cognitive misconceptions, information quality; (6)Needs and preferences for brain health promotion, including authoritative yet practical content, and diversified age-friendly formats. CONCLUSIONS: Older adults have a compartmentalized understanding of brain health, often accompanied by misconceptions and tend to hold negative attitudes toward brain health promotion, highlighting an urgent need for professional guidance to provide correct education and direction. Our study reveals that effective brain health promotion requires enhancing internal motivation, building external support networks, and overcoming implementation barriers through integrated strategies, while crucially tailoring approaches to individual needs and preferences for maximum effectiveness.