In light of the growing public health crisis of Alzheimer’s disease, the American Public Health Association (APHA) adopted a new policy statement on Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline at its annual convention in New Orleans. The policy statement encourages public health organizations to incorporate Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive health into their priorities. And, it calls on state and local public health officials to implement the Public Health Road Map, which was jointly developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Alzheimer’s Association.

The Public Health Road Map outlines 35 action items that public health agencies can do to promote cognitive functioning, address cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease, and help meet the needs of caregivers. Examples include: 

• Adding links to Alzheimer’s and dementia resources on state public health agency websites, such as alzheimers.gov, alz.org, and cdc.gov/features/alzheimers.
• Integrating Healthy People 2020 dementia objectives into state plans.
• Using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System’s (BRFSS) Cognitive and Caregiver Modules to enhance public awareness.

In using the Public Health Road Map, officials can prioritize and integrate Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive health into their broader practices, and they can adopt those action items that would best meet the needs of their individual states and communities.

“Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most under-recognized public health crises of the 21st century,” said Robert Egge, Vice President of Public Policy for the Alzheimer’s Association.  “Recognition of this fact by the American Public Health Association – the premier public health organization – is a huge step forward in ensuring that public health officials join the effort to address this crisis.”

Dr. Lynda Anderson, Director of the Healthy Aging Program at the CDC, added, “Given the growth of the aging population and the effects of Alzheimer’s disease on the lives of millions, we look forward to working with APHA’s leadership and members to implement the actions of the Road Map as widely as possible.”

For more information, contact Molly French (mfrench@alz.org).

The Alzheimer’s Public Health E-News is supported by Cooperative Agreement #5U58DP002945-04 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the Alzheimer’s Association and do not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC.