EverActive: SJH Expert-Led Brain Health and Fall Prevention in One Dynamic Programme.

The Regional Specialist Memory Clinic at St. James’s Hospital is one of four such clinics in Ireland. We provide a specialised level of assessment and diagnosis, and also multidisciplinary support for individuals diagnosed with cognitive conditions, including Mild Cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Dementia with Lewy Bodies.

Healthcare is increasingly focused on keeping people well and preventing illness before it starts. This is especially true for dementia, where several modifiable risk factors have been identified. Research shows that lifestyle factors—such as staying physically active, eating well, and remaining socially and mentally engaged—can help reduce the risk of developing dementia by up to 45%. For those already experiencing mild memory difficulties, taking steps to support brain health can make a real difference. These interventions may help slow or even prevent the progression to more serious memory issues (Livingston et al., 2020).

EverActive is an innovative new programme for patients attending the Memory Clinic and their support partners. It combines brain health education with a postural stability exercise class.

Following a successful pilot programme in 2024, we partnered with St. Catherine’s Community Gym to host the programme there. We are now running our fourth cycle of the programme, which has been extended to seven weeks duration.

Each week, a clinician from the Memory Clinic delivers a talk on their area of expertise and its connection to brain health. This is followed by a balance, strength, and conditioning class focused on falls prevention, led by a qualified postural stability instructor and a physiotherapist. A break between the talk and the exercise session provides time for participants to connect socially and offer peer support.

One of the weekly sessions focuses on creative arts and brain health.  Creative arts can enhance wellbeing, reduce anxiety, and support memory and communication in people living with dementia (WHO, 2025). Guest speakers are invited with support from the Creative Life Centre in the Mercer’s Institute of Successful Ageing (MISA) at St. James’s Hospital. Past speakers have included a musician with a special interest in dementia care and an artist from the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

At the end of the EverActive programme, participants and their partners were invited to complete a feedback form. This included open-ended questions about their experience and the programme’s content and format. All six participants with memory difficulties reported that they found the programme helpful. Similarly, all support partners rated every aspect of the programme as either “very good” or “excellent.” Participants particularly valued the friendly group atmosphere, the expertise of the speakers, the physical activity sessions, and the practical information shared.

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Emma Blain, visited the group in March 2025. She has a strong interest in community programmes for people with dementia and a personal appreciation of the value they bring. Participants were later invited to the Mansion House for an Afternoon Tea Dance, which they thoroughly enjoyed.

Photo: Fiona Smyth (Physio in SJH Memory Clinic) with the Lord Mayor of Dublin, the Regional Specialist Memory Clinic team and EverActive participants 2025

Where to from here?

The Programme is a collaboration between the St. James’s Hospital Memory Clinic, the Dementia Services Information and Development Centre (DSiDC), and Dublin City Council and is funded by the DSiDC at St. James’s Hospital. We are excited to be planning scale up, to to run it three times a year with up to 30 participants. We intend to bring it to other community settings and to expand participation to people with and without memory issues.