Wednesday, May 21, 2025
5/21/2025
The National Healthy Brain Initiative: Develop and Advance Implementation of Public Health Strategies - Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) are a growing set of serious, progressive cognitive conditions and a growing public health crisis. An estimated 5.8 million Americans have Alzheimer’s and 5.6 million of them are 65 and over – a population estimated to grow by over 50 percent by 2030. ADRD disproportionately affects certain groups. Women, African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians/Alaska Natives, and persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities are some of the populations with a higher risk of developing ADRD. Since its inception in 2005, the Healthy Brain Initiative (HBI) has raised awareness of cognitive impairment as a public health issue and catalyzed the public health response. Much progress has been made, but more work remains. The Alzheimer’s Association’s overall goal of this proposed five-year HBI Cooperative Agreement as a Component A organization is to further the implementation, dissemination and evaluation of The Healthy Brain Initiative’s State and Local Partnerships to Address Dementia: The 2018-2023 Road Map and its companion, The Road Map for Indian Country, by building on our 14-year history of collaborating with CDC to establish a public health action model for ADRD. Under the current award, the HBI has achieved an unprecedented level of awareness, data collection, and Road Map implementation on ADRD at the state, tribal, and national levels. Our proposed strategies and activities aim to expand, mature, and take to scale actions by the U.S. public health system to promote brain health, address cognitive impairment including ADRD, and support caregivers’ needs. With CDC, we also will develop the next items in the Road Map series. A cornerstone of our strategy is establishing a new national collaborative to synchronize the growing array of partners and establish a sustainable public health network that makes progress in accelerating uptake of evidence-informed strategies to reduce risk for cognitive decline, increase early detection of ADRD, optimize quality of life, reduce disparities, and strengthen caregiving. This collaborative will employ the collective impact model through which we will engage our target population of state, tribal, and local public health agencies and their partners in implementing the Road Maps. In selecting a collective impact approach, we believe the HBI has the potential to have a significant impact over the next five years. The Association will mobilize our 77 chapters across the nation to continue to engage our target population in implementing the Road Maps; partner with CDC, state, tribal, and local public health governmental agencies and their national organizations to advance Road Map actions; collaborate with Component B organizations to support work targeting those populations with a high burden of ADRD; and draw on the Association’s unparalleled nationwide network of subject matter experts for advice and assistance on content, evaluation, and dissemination. The proposed agreement provides an expanded opportunity for the Alzheimer’s Association and CDC to guide our target population toward a future of integration of ADRD as a public health concern that builds on a shared vision, protects and improves the health of populations, reduces disparities, and strengthens the U.S. public health infrastructure.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).