Addressing cognitive impairment and promoting functioning: State and local public health initiatives

We describe the participatory process used to create a new road map, developed in 2013, focusing on how state and local public health and their partners can promote cognitive functioning, address cognitive impairment for individuals living in the community, and help meet the needs of care partners. We highlight several examples of current public health efforts at the state and local levels. This work was conducted under the auspices of the Healthy Brain Initiative, which is a congressionally supported component of the Healthy Aging Program at CDC. In 2006, CDC partnered with the Alzheimer's Association and other public and private sector organizations to create the first road map that would guide a coordinated public health response across agencies and organizations for a 5-year timeframe, The Healthy Brain Initiative: A National Public Health Road Map to Maintaining Cognitive Health (2007). The development of the new road map, The Healthy Brain Initiative: The Public Health Road Map for State and National Partnerships, 2013–2018, was guided by a multidisciplinary leadership committee. A concept mapping process was used to engage more than 280 stakeholders at national, state, and community levels. We included content experts, practitioners, and decision makers that generated ideas and identified action items for the road map. Results were used to identify the set of strategic actions relevant to states and communities. This presentation will describe the conceptual framework, key action items, and identify current examples of state efforts that align with the action items of the road map.