As part of the new initiative, this summer an interprofessional team led by Kemp offered free health screenings at community centers across Washington and northern Idaho for a range of modifiable risk factors associated with Alzheimer\u2019s disease and related dementias\u2014including cardiovascular health, social-emotional well-being, nutrition, sleep, and other lifestyle factors. Participants received personalized education and resources designed to support and improve their long-term brain health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kemp hopes the mobile clinic will raise awareness of the ways individuals can lower their risk of dementia, particularly through lesser-known factors such as protecting one\u2019s hearing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOf everything you can do to protect your brain as you age, your hearing plays a huge role and is one of the easiest things that can be habilitated,\u201d Kemp said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students from the WSU College of Medicine Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences (SHS) and the WSU College of Nursing gained hands-on clinical experience as part of the clinic team. Nursing students Elizabeth Brazington, Hayley Devine, Kaylynn Koon, and Vy Pham conducted screenings, supported by a grant from the Granger Cobb Institute of Senior Living<\/a>. The students were supervised by Sue McFadden, MN, ARNP, Kay Olson, MN, RN, and Robyn Maehren, BSN, CEN. <\/p>\n\n\n\n SHS undergraduate students Solveig Anderson and Hailey Lengenfelder and graduate students Callie Barokas, Hannah Tjelle, Janelle Wilson, and Madison Baller assisted with the screenings and preparing resource handouts. They will also contribute to BRAIN FIT research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Data from the screenings and regular follow-ups with participants will be collected in a repository, allowing researchers to analyze which factors and self-managed interventions best predict the trajectory of cognitive decline over time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Students will assist with Kemp\u2019s study of cognitive health trajectories and will have the opportunity to answer their research questions related to brain health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Master\u2019s student Madison Baller is particularly interested in how mental health and adverse childhood experiences impact cognitive health later in life. Depression and other indicators of emotional well-being are known risk factors for dementia, according to previous research<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo many Americans experience mental health difficulties and may not realize how it is impacting their cognitive functioning,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Janelle Wilson, also a second-year student in the Master of Science in Speech and Hearing Sciences program, is passionate about investigating connections between vision and hearing loss and cognitive decline, which could have important implications for clinical practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis research may allow practitioners to better predict cognitive decline in older adults while providing early, effective, and non-invasive intervention,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cIt could also empower patients to use effective self-management strategies, leading to improved cognitive outcomes and quality of life.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Group](\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-medicine\/uploads\/sites\/3023\/2025\/09\/Summer-Clinic-Amy-Kemp-Lab-SHS-2025_98-792x528.jpg\")
Enhancing Health Outcomes and Empowering Student Inquiry <\/h2>\n\n\n\n