Building states' capacity to address dementia

Abstract

One of the principal objectives of the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure program is to elevate dementia as a public health priority in state, local, territorial, and tribal health departments across the United States. Since 2020, the BOLD Program, through the stewardship of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has supported 45 state and other health departments throughout the United States 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 article will demonstrate how Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's BOLD Program has begun to address this rich diversity throughout the United States.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Capacity-building; Public health; Public health intervention.

Figure 1.

Maps of the 2020–2023, 2021–2023, and 2023–2028 BOLD Programs. (A) BOLD Programs, 2020–2023 (n = 16); (B) BOLD Programs, 2021–2023 (n = 7); (C) BOLD Programs, 2023–2028 (n = 43).