The Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (the Center) at the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) has a vision to promote an equitable quality of life for all Oklahomans. The Center constantly strives to make progress towards this vision through its mission: To advance population health and prevent chronic disease by transforming policies, systems, and environments. The proposed OSDH project, Oklahoma Healthy Brain Initiative, aims to enhance Oklahoma’s ability to affect change at the population level by establishing and strengthening partnerships to implement sustainable health systems changes for improving prevention and early diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD), enhanced public education and caregiver support, and prevention of avoidable hospitalizations among the target population.
Oklahoma has several groups providing information, education and services to Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers; however, these groups appear to operate in silos with efforts often being scattered and fragmented. In order to increase the number of ADRD stakeholders engaging in state or local collaboration and action, the Oklahoma Healthy Brain Initiative will begin by creating an overarching statewide coalition of stakeholders who will be charged with recruitment of additional stakeholders as well as providing leadership, organization, oversight and coordinated communication among partners. By reaching out to these various groups, the Oklahoma Healthy Brain Initiative will be able to align and coordinate services and provide collaboration and communication among the groups.
The Oklahoma Healthy Brain Initiative will implement existing evidence-based strategies that meet Oklahoma’s needs based on the data collected and achieve the period of performance outcomes outlined in this funding opportunity. The Center intends to utilize a coordinated chronic disease approach to leverage resources and opportunities with internal and external partners and will implement policy, systems and environment (PSE) strategies through state and community level partnerships to foster sustainable progress with ADRD. The Center’s approach is anchored on the principles of the socio-ecological model and the social determinants of health.
The coalition will collaborate with key stakeholders on reviewing and enhancing the Alzheimer's and Related Dementias State Plan for 2018-2022 and integrating the RM series actions and public health approach during Year 1 of the award. In addition, the Center with support from key stakeholders such as the Alzheimer’s Association Oklahoma Chapter will utilize available data to advocate for the inclusion of CDC's State and Local Public Health Partnerships to Address Dementia: The 2018-2023 Road Map (RM) Series actions in community health improvement plans being developed by the OSDH Community Development Service and county health departments. The actions the Oklahoma Health Brain Initiative will pursue RM actions: P-1: Promote the use of effective interventions and best practices to protect brain health, address cognitive impairment, and help meet the needs of caregivers for people with dementia; M-3: Use data gleaned through available surveillance strategies and other sources to inform the public health program and policy response to cognitive health, impairment, and caregiving; E-1: Educate the public about brain health and cognitive aging, changes that should be discussed with a health professional, and benefits of early detection and diagnosis; W-5: Strengthen the competencies of professionals who deliver healthcare and other care services to people with dementia through inter-professional training and other strategies; W-6: Educate healthcare professionals about the importance of treating co-morbidities, addressing injury risks, and attending to behavioral health needs among people at all stages of dementia.