June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month

Brain Awareness Month supports people with cognitive disabilities such as traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. Cognitive disabilities affect communication, memory, mood, and all aspects of daily living.

In addition to raising awareness of the life experiences of people with various cognitive disabilities, Brain Awareness Month emphasizes the need for accessible, supportive environment in order to protect the dignity, independence, and safety of people with these conditions.

Around the world, 66 million people live with Alzheimer disease or some other form of dementia. Yearly. 27069 million people around the world experience a TBI. Two-thirds of the American population have at least one major risk factor for dementia. There are around 500,000 people who become permanently disabled by a TBI annually in the US.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects the rights of people with cognitive disabilities. The ADA ensures equal access to healthcare, jobs, and public services. It requires reasonableworkplace accommodations, which may include flexible schedules, memory aids, or written instructions.

This month also raises awareness about the experiences of people with cognitive disabilities and promotes the need for accessible, supportive environments that protect their dignity, independence, and safety. 

Healthinfo Island Displays and Exhibits for June 2026

All the poster sets align with the Mental Health Symposium, Thursday, June 25.. The theme is pain, and presentations will examine the relationship between pain and mental health.

In Second Life, you can teleport to any of the eight displays and exhibits using the SLURLs in this posting. Click on the poster with the same name as the title of the poster set, and you will get a notecard that contains all the text of the posters plus descriptions of the images.  If you click each poster, you will get a private message with additional information and live links.

A Short History of Pain Theories
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/195/158/22

What Do These Quotes Mean To You?
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/188/181/24

Foods That Increase Inflammation and Pain
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/172/155/22

Fibromyalgia and Mental Health
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/114/79/24

Better Driving with Chronic Pain
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/98/40/26

The Pain Triangle
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/50/28/28

Calm Your Anxiety Disorder
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/24/23/30

What Does Chronic Pain Look Like?
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/21/63/32


Central Pavilion of Healthinfo Island
Check out the calming breathing exercise on the back wall!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/128/126/24

Thank you to Mook for help with the posters this month.

What is personal maturity?

Our lives are journeys. We can consider ourselves mature when we have ceased to be a passenger in life and have become the pilot, choosing our own path. Rather than striving to meet others’ expectations of us, we are setting our own course.

When we recognize and accept our individual strengths and weaknesses, we become self-aware. We can tell the difference between a goal we might stretch to meet and a fantasy or dream. We make intentional and realistic decisions and choices, working toward long-term personal priorities rather than short-term external validation. We are able to gauge the true cost of our tasks, in time, effort, and money. The short- and long-term effects of opportunities we accept or reject are visible to us.

Adulting is only part of developing maturity. Ask yourself what steps you can take to enhance your personal maturity.

Would You Like to Help Plan or Conduct Health Care Research?

Yes, it’s an important contribution to be part of the subject population of a research project. That’s a good way to participate in research. Some of us think our life experiences might also be useful in designing and operating a research project.

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has created a collection of peer-reviewed articles outlining best practices for non-researcher engagement in health research. These articles would not only be of interest to researchers intending to involve more stakeholders in their research, but also to patients, family members, carers, and community members.

The Engagement in Health Research Literature Explorer categorizes pertinent articles in three ways:  by article type, expectations of partnership, and impact. Types of articles in the database include:

• Studies of engagement
• Descriptions of engagement practice
• Engagement resources
• Frameworks or models

and more. Expectations for research partnerships include:

• Building capacity to work as a team
• Early and ongoing engagement
• Representative involvement
• Meaningful inclusion in decision making

Impacts may be on the research itself, on the partners or researchers, or on healthcare and health.

If you had a chance to influence how research about your medical condition is conducted, would you take it? The documents in this database may help you feel comfortable in this new patient-centered research role.