What if protecting your brain health became as accessible as popping into your local pharmacy?
Author: Catherine Verner · Published: 14/10/2026
We know that many of the factors linked to dementia risk are modifiable. But knowing what can help prevent cognitive decline and making that knowledge accessible to everyone are two very different things. That’s something we’re determined to change. We believe that prevention should be front and centre of our approach to dealing with dementia risk.
For many people, the community pharmacy is the part of the health service they see most often. There is no appointment to book, and the staff are familiar faces. For many people managing blood pressure or diabetes, it is a regular stop. Over the next year, that everyday visit becomes the starting point for an exciting new research project.
We’re delighted to have been awarded funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), through its Invention for Innovation (i4i) Funding at the Speed of Translation (FAST) scheme to test whether our dementia prevention pathway can be offered through community pharmacies. The 12-month project began in September 2026 and will run across seven pharmacy branches in Northern Ireland, working with a delivery partner. It aims to involve 300 adults.
About this research
Project period: September 2026 to August 2027
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Research sponsor: Aberystwyth University
Study location: Seven community pharmacy branches in Northern Ireland
Target participation: 300 adults
Why prevention, and why the pharmacy?
Around 982,000 people in the UK are living with dementia (1). The 2024 Lancet Commission estimated that around 45% of cases worldwide are linked to 14 risk factors that can be modified, including high blood pressure, diabetes, physical inactivity and hearing loss (2). That figure describes whole populations and is not a given for any one person, but it makes a strong case for acting earlier. You can explore the science behind these findings in our evidence-based dementia prevention recommendations. It brings together research on the lifestyle factors linked to cognitive health.
Evidence from clinical trials also supports this approach. In the Finnish FINGER trial, a two-year programme combined diet, exercise, cognitive training and vascular risk monitoring. The programme improved or maintained cognitive function in older adults at risk, compared with general health advice (3).
Yet most services still identify dementia only once symptoms appear. People who live a long way from specialist services, or who rarely see their GP, have even fewer chances to learn about their risk early. Community pharmacies are often close to home and already part of people’s routines.
For us, this is at the heart of our mission. We want to move dementia prevention out of the research papers and into everyday life, giving more people the knowledge and practical support to take charge of their brain health before problems develop.
How the pathway works
Pharmacy teams will not administer the cognitive assessments. Their role is to let people know the assessments and behaviour change programme is there, through materials in the branch and leaflets included in prescription bags for patients receiving medication deliveries. The materials will include information about the study.
Participants then complete everything at home. They take our Cognitive Function Test, the online assessment already completed by more than 400,000 people worldwide. This is followed by a questionnaire on diet and lifestyle. Their results lead into COGNITION, our personalised brain health programme. The programme supports people to make small, specific changes across eight areas of brain health, from sleep to blood sugar balance. COGNITION draws on the COM-B model of behaviour change. This recognises that a new habit takes hold only when a person has the capability, the opportunity and the motivation to act (4). At the end of the programme, participants repeat the assessments. This allows the research team to see what has shifted over time.
The check is not a diagnosis for dementia. Where a result suggests someone should talk to their GP, they are given clear information and encouraged to do so. Results are shared with their GP practice only if the participant chooses.
What the project will show
This is an implementation study. It will not show whether the pathway prevents dementia, which no 12-month project could. It asks a more practical question: can this approach fit into the working day of a busy pharmacy, and do people from different backgrounds find it acceptable? The team will also look at how well it connects with existing health services and what it costs to deliver.
A Lived Experience Advisory Group is helping to shape the invitation materials and the routes into the study.
The project is led by Food for the Brain, with Aberystwyth University as research sponsor. Dr Amanda J Lloyd of Aberystwyth University manages the project, working with Cath Verner, our Head of Research, and Kim Close, our Head of COGNITION. Dr Tommy Wood of the University of Washington provides scientific oversight.
“Community pharmacies could provide a really accessible way to help people understand and reduce their dementia risk, particularly in rural communities,” said Dr Amanda Lloyd, project lead. “We’re looking forward to sharing the work at the Rural Health and Care Wales Conference this November.”
By August 2027, we aim to have the evidence a health commissioner would need to decide whether a pharmacy-led model is worth adopting more widely.
Our hope is that this is another step towards a future where dementia prevention becomes a normal part of healthcare, rather than something people only think about once memory problems begin.
We’ll share progress with you as the project develops.
How you can be part of it
The pharmacy study is recruiting only through its participating branches, but you don’t need to be part of this study to start taking action for your brain health.
Our Cognitive Function Test is free for anyone to take at foodforthebrain.org, helping you understand your cognitive health and identify areas where you may be able to reduce your risk.
Research like this is also made possible by the thousands of people who have already taken part in our citizen science work, and by our community of supporters who believe, as we do, that prevention deserves a much bigger place in healthcare.
If you’d like to help us continue this work, becoming a FRIEND of Food for the Brain is one way to support the research that comes next.
References
1. Alzheimer’s Society. How many people have dementia in the UK?. Available at alzheimers.org.uk (accessed 7 October 2026).
2. Livingston G, Huntley J, Liu KY, et al. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission. Lancet. 2024;404(10452):572-628.
3. Ngandu T, Lehtisalo J, Solomon A, et al. A 2 year multidomain intervention of diet, exercise, cognitive training, and vascular risk monitoring versus control to prevent cognitive decline in at-risk elderly people (FINGER): a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2015;385(9984):2255-2263.
4. Michie S, van Stralen MM, West R. The behaviour change wheel: a new method for characterising and designing behaviour change interventions. Implement Sci. 2011;6:42.