Kansas BOLD Public Health Programs to Address Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias - The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) requests CDC-RFA-DP-23-0010 BOLD Public Health Programs to Address Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Component 1 funds to expand on groundwork started by the 2018 Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Working Group and the 2019 Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Task Force. As the state health department, KDHE has the ability to implement strategies on a statewide level by leveraging internal capacity and a vast list of partnerships throughout the state. Our established partnerships and demonstrated experience in implementing state-wide public health initiatives will allow us to serve all populations and communities that are proposed in this project. Through this funding opportunity, KDHE will build the public health infrastructure by expanding the 2018 Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Working Group and the 2019 Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Task Force into a state-level coalition who will implement evidence-based strategies to related to Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) with an emphasis on addressing the social determinants of health and health equity. Strategies will be informed by CDC’s Healthy Brain Initiative State and Local Public Health Partnerships to Address Dementia: The 2018-2023 Road Map. Priority populations of focus will be Kansas adults aged 18 years and older and their caregivers who have high burden for ADRD. Data will be utilized to identify those with high burden of ADRD in Kansas and enhanced focus will be placed on those associated with higher prevalence of dementias such as those in rural areas, with lower income, and with advanced age. ADRD risk, disease burden, economic, and social determinants of health, and other disparities in minority and underserved populations will be incorporated when developing ADRD public health initiatives in Kansas. By implementing strategies under Component 1, KDHE will strengthen and expand the public health infrastructure by increasing capacity in the field of ADRD by building coordinated systems, including increasing community-clinical linkages, increasing awareness and knowledge of ADRD in Kansas among the public and among health care providers, and through improving the sustainability of ADRD efforts in Kansas. Activities will be led by the state-level coalition and the updated Kansas ADRD strategic plan. Activities strategically engage select effective state and community partners and leverage resources across public and private sector organizations to ensure ADRD strategies are implemented. KDHE aims to achieve an improvement from baseline in select short-term, intermediate-term, and long-term outcomes associated with ADRD by the end of program period.
