Dr Louise Lafortune - Department of Public Health and Primary Care

Principal Research Associate

Dr Louise Lafortune is a Principal Research Associate at Cambridge Public Health, and co-leads of its Lifecourse and Ageing research pillar.

She believes older people should be able to live full, engaged lives in their chosen communities. Her work targets systems, interventions and technologies that help people maintain their independence and quality of life as they age. She also focuses on the prevention and mitigation of frailty in older adults.

Louise is currently funded by NIHR as Principal Investigator (PI) for both the School for Public Health Research (SPHR) and the Social Return on Investment of Age Friendly Communities research programme. She is also Principal researcher in the Population Evidence and Data Science theme for the Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) East of England.

She currently chairs the Aging Longevity and Health (ALH) initiative at the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), serves on the WHO Technical Advisory Group for Measurement, Monitoring and Evaluation of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing, and has served on research and policy advisory boards including NICE, the Alzheimer’s Society and Public Health England. Her work in health economics, outcomes research, and evidence synthesis is published in such journals as The Lancet, the BMJ and Nature Neurology.

She holds a Master of Neurosciences (McGill) and a dual PhD in Public Health (Université de Montreal and Université de Paris).

Areas of Interest

Ageing
Age Friendly Communities
Frailty
Dementia
Social Return on Investment
Inequalities

Selected Publications

Ageing, Dementia & Frailty – Evidence for practice and policy & public engagement

Mayrhofer A, Goodman C, Lafortune L, Smeeton N, Littlechild B, Shora S, Bunn F. Third sector provision of dementia support in the community: results of a scoping exercise of charity involvement in the UK. Voluntary Sector Review. First published online 7 Dec 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1332/204080521X16333394034496
Lee C, Kuhn I, McGrath M, Remes O, Cowan A, Duncan F, Baskin C, …, Lafortune L. A systematic scoping review of community-based interventions for the prevention and promotion of mental health in older adults in the UK. Health and Social Care in the Community. First published 14^th May 2021. DOI: https://doi-org.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/10.1111/hsc.13413
Lee C, Parker G, Buckner S, Mattocks C, Barnes A, Jordan H, Oliver E, Cowan A, Lafortune L. Neighbourhood planning, rural ageing and public health policy in England. Town Planning Review. Approved 14^th May 2021. In press
Cherbuin N, Iijima K, Kalula S, Malhotra R, Rasmussen L, Chan A, Lafortune L, et al. Societal Need for Interdisciplinary Ageing Research. Biomedicine Hub. 2021;6:42-47. DOI: https://doi-org.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/10.1159/000513513
Kim H, Kelly S, Lafortune L, Brayne C. A Scoping Review of the conceptual differentiation of technology for healthy aging. 2020. The Gerontologist. 2020;gnaaa051. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnaa051
Buckner S, Darlington N, Woodward M, Buswell M, Mathie E Arthur A, Lafortune L, Killett A, Mayrhofer A, Thurman J, Goodman C. D. Dementia Friendly Communities in England: a scoping study. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 16 April, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.5123
Coker J, Martin M, Simpson R, Lafortune L. Frailty: an In depth qualitative study exploring the views of community care staff. BMC Geriatrics. BMC Geriatrics. Feb 2019. 19(1):47. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-019-1069-3
Lee C, Mellor T, Dilworth-Anderson P, Young T, Brayne C, Lafortune L. Opportunities and challenges in public and community engagement: the connected for cognitive health in later life (CHILL) project. Research Involvement and Engagement. 19 Oct 2018. 19(4):42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-018-0127-x
Buckner S, Mattocks C, Rimmer M, Lafortune L. An evaluation tool for age-friendly and dementia friendly communities. Working with older people. 2018. 22;1:48-58. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/WWOP-11-2017-0032.
Kelly S, Olanrewaju O, Cowan A, Brayne C, Lafortune L. Alcohol and older people: a systematic review of barriers, facilitators and context of drinking in older people and implications for intervention design. PLOS One. January 25 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191189
Buckner S, Pope D, Mattocks C, Lafortune L, Dherani M, Bruce N. Developing age-friendly cities: an evidence-based evaluation tool. Journal of Population Ageing. 2017. Published online: 6 October 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-017-9206-2
Lafortune L, Brayne C. Dementia prevention — a call for contextualized evidence. Nature Neurology Reviews. 2017. 29 Sept, 13:579-580. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2017.136.
Lafortune L, Martin S, Kelly S. Midlife approaches to prevention of ill health in later life. JAMA Internal Medicine. Published online 6 Feb 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.8849
Lafortune L, Martin S, Kelly S, Kuhn I, Remes O, Cowan A, Brayne C. Behavioural risk factors in mid-life associated with successful ageing, disability, dementia and frailty in later life: a rapid systematic review. PLoS ONE. 2016; 11(2): e0144405. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0144405
Martin S, Fleming J, Cullum S, Dening T, Rait G, Fox C, Katona C, Braye C, Lafortune L. Exploring attitudes and preferences for dementia screening in Britain: contributions from carers and the general public. BMC Geriatrics. 2015; 15:110. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-015-0100-6
Lafortune L, Béland F, Bergman H, Ankri J. Transitions in health status in community-living elderly: a latent transition analysis. BMC Geriatrics. 2009; 3(6):e6. DOI: https://doi.ord/10.1186/1471-2318-9-6
Lafortune L, Béland F, Bergman H, Ankri J. Health state profiles and service utilization in community-living elderly. Medical Care. 2009; 47(3): 286-294. DOI: https://doi.ord/10.1097/MLR.0b013e3181894293

Public Health & Mental Health

Duncan F, Baskin C, McGrath M, J Coker, Lee C, Dykxhoorn J, Adams EA^, Gnani S, Lafortune L, Kirkbride JB, Kaner E, Jones O, Samuel G, Walters K, Osborn D, Oliver EJ on behalf of the School for Public Health Research Public Mental Health Programme. Community interventions for improving adult mental health: mapping local policy and practice in England. BMC Public Health. 2021. 21:1691. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-021-11741-5
Zijlstra G, Baskin C, McGrath M, Lee C, Duncan F, Oliver EJ, Osborn D, Dykxhoorn J, Kaner E, Lafortune L, Walters K, Kirkbride J, Gnani S. Community-centred interventions for improving public mental health among adults from minority ethnic populations in the United Kingdom: a scoping review. BMJ Open 2021;11:e041102. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-041102
Lee C, Burgess G, Cowan A, Kuhn I, Lafortune L. Community exchange and time currencies: a systematic review and in depth thematic review of impact on public health outcomes. 2019. Public Health 180:117-128. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2019.11.011
Remes O, Lafortune L, Wainwright N, Surtees P, Khaw KT, Brayne C. Association between area deprivation and major depressive disorder in British men and women: a cohort study. 2019. BMJ Open.2019;9:e027530. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-027530
Remes O, Wainwright N, Surtees P, Lafortune L, Khaw K-T, Brayne C. Generalized anxiety disorder and hospital admissions: findings from a large, population cohort study. BMJ Open, 2018. 2018;8:e018539.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018539
Remes O, Wainwright N, Surtees P, Lafortune L, Khaw K-T, Brayne C. Sex differences in the association between area deprivation and generalised anxiety disorder: British population study. BMJ Open, 2017; 7:e013590. DOI: https://doi.ord/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013590
Radhakrishnan M, Hammond G, Jones P, Watson A, McMillan-Shields F, Lafortune L. Cost of improving access to psychological therapies (IAPT) programme: an analysis of cost of session, treatment and recovery in selected Primary Care Trusts in the East of England region. Behavioural Research and Therapy. 2013; 51(1):37-45. DOI: https://doi.ord/10.1016/j.brat.2012.10.001

Research Group Affiliations

Affiliated Associate Professor, Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen: https://healthyaging.ku.dk/about/
Associate, Centre for Ageing Research and Education, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore: https:/s/www.duke-nus.edu.sg/care/about/care-associates

Principal Research Associate

Selected Publications

Contact the DPHPC

Postgraduate Studies

MPhil Population Health Sciences

About the DPHPC

Research at DPHPC

Study at Cambridge