Building States' Capacity to Address Dementia

Abstract

One of the principal objectives of the Building Our Largest Dementia Infrastructure (BOLD) program is to elevate dementia as a public health priority in state, local, territorial, and tribal health departments across the U.S. Since 2020, the BOLD program, through the stewardship of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, has supported 45 state and other health departments throughout the U.S. to refine and implement strategic public health action plans to address dementia that focus on risk reduction, early detection, and caregiving using the framework of the Healthy Brain Initiative Road Map Series. Following an overview and description of the extent of BOLD's reach, we will highlight several exemplars from individual states' work in advancing dementia as a public health priority, including efforts to engage local Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Programs to facilitate age-friendly local healthcare systems; working with diverse faith-based communities to disseminate risk reduction strategies; and supporting and training county staff to better meet the needs of dementia caregivers in their respective communities, among others. The resources, opportunities, and challenges to initiate key public health actions to address dementia vary widely across state, local, territorial, and tribal communities, and the current paper will demonstrate how CDC's BOLD Program has begun to address this rich diversity throughout the U.S.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; capacity-building; public health; public health intervention.