I Have Decided to Read Out Loud for the Rest of My Life! Cognitive Health and the StrongerMemory Program

The StrongerMemory program aims to improve cognitive health in older adults through three daily brain exercises stimulating the prefrontal cortex: reading aloud, writing, and math activities. The brain’s prefrontal cortex governs memory retrieval, decision-making, concentration, planning, insight, and judgment. This paper reports on focus groups conducted to understand participants’ perspectives of the StrongerMemory program and their continuation of the exercises post-study. Thirty older adults, mostly female, white, married, and holding advanced degrees, participated. Rigorous data analysis involving coding, memoing, and constant comparative analysis generated 132 codes leading to the emergence of five themes: motivating , appreciating , taxing , committing , and enhancing . Social work practitioners can gain valuable insights from this study to enhance the creation and implementation of accessible and meaningful brain health interventions for older adults.