National Dementia Strategies in OECD Countries: A Focus on Inequities

Abstract

Background:In response to global increases of dementia prevalence, several countries have developed national strategies to address dementia as a public health priority. These strategies aim to improve dementia care, supports, and resources for all citizens, including persons living with dementia, care partners, and communities. Inequities faced by vulnerable populations impact dementia care and health outcomes, however it is unclear whether dementia strategies adequately address these. This environmental scan aims to (1) describe the trends in the different economic, political, and demographic factors that may be associated with the development of national dementia strategies in OECD countries to understand why some countries have or do not have dementia strategies, and (2) describe if and how OECD countries' national dementia strategies consider inequities as a target of concern.Methods: This thesis uses an environmental scan to identify, analyze, and evaluate the existing national dementia strategies of countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).Two databases of grey literature (Alzheimer Europe and Alzheimer's Disease International) were searched for national level dementia strategies, in English or French, for countries that are members of the OECD. After identifying where national dementia strategies have been developed, an analysis of the current health care context was conducted in order to identify trends and associations between dementia strategy implementation and the economic, political, and demographic contexts of the countries in which they currently exist. To do so, we looked at the Gross Domestic Product, percent of health spending, and the percent of population age 65+ of each OECD country. Dementia strategies were analyzed for the presence or absence of seven equity-focused targets of concern. These seven categories (race/ethnicity, religion, age,