Page 3 - Healthy Brain Initiative, State and Local Public Health Partnerships to Address Dementia: The 2018-2023 Road Map

INTRODUCTION

The Alzheimer’s Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed the
third in a series of Healthy Brain Initiative Road Maps to advance cognitive health as an integral component of
public health (see Section IV). This Healthy Brain Initiative State and Local Public Health Partnerships to Address
Dementia: The 2018-2023 Road Map outlines how state and local public health agencies and their partners can
continue to promote cognitive health, address cognitive impairment for people living in the community, and help
meet the needs of caregivers. Twenty-five specific actions are proposed in four traditional domains of public
health: educate and empower, develop policies and mobilize partnerships, assure a competent workforce, and
monitor and evaluate. This “action agenda” speaks to critical issues of risk identification and risk reduction,
diagnosis, education and training, caregivers, and evidence on impact of the disease. Twenty-one of the 25
actions are rooted in the second Road Map, The Healthy Brain Initiative: The Public Health Road Map for State
and National Partnerships, 2013-2018.
Even as new initiatives are pursued, the need for continued attention to earlier identified priorities remains.
Collectively, the action agenda provides a solid foundation for the public health community to anticipate and
respond to the growing impact of Alzheimer’s and other dementias on every facet of society. The vision is for
state and local public health agencies to continue strengthening their capacity, building strong state and local
partnerships, and integrating cognitive health into ongoing public health efforts. Moving forward, changes to
policies, systems, and environments should be considered to make progress in reducing risk for cognitive decline
and optimizing the health, well-being, and functioning of people living with dementia and their caregivers. •

State and Local Public Health
Partnerships to Address Dementia:
The 2018-2023 Road Map
The first Healthy Brain Initiative Road Map was published in 2007, A National Public Health Road Map to Maintaining Cognitive
Health. Six years later, the second edition was released, The Public Health Road Map for State and National Partnerships,
2013-2018. This edition—State and Local Public Health Partnerships to Address Dementia: The 2018-2023 Road Map—marks
the third in this series.

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