BOLD Public Health Programs to Address Alzheimers Disease and Related Dementias - The Rhode Island Department of Health’s Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Program (RIADRDP) will utilize the funding opportunity CDC-RFA-DP-23-0010 – Component 2 to build upon the accomplishments achieved in the State of Rhode Island through the implementation of the Rhode Island Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders State Plan. Key partners will include members of the statewide ADRD coalition which is referred to as the Rhode Island Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Advisory Council. The proposed activities will use a public health approach to expand the reach and impact of activities that align with the Healthy Brain Initiative: 2018-2023 Road Map’s evidence-based strategies and actions aimed at preventing and managing Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (ADRD) statewide, with a focus on high-burden populations. RIADRDP has identified the 24,000 people with dementia and the 39,000 caregivers statewide, as well as Hispanic and African American older adults with ADRD who reside in the communities of Providence, Central Falls, Pawtucket, and Woonsocket as the target populations. The focus of RIADRDP’s proposed activities are comprised into eight strategies including: (1) Expand existing jurisdiction RI ADRD coalition, (2) Educate coalition members and partners to orient them to brain health and ADRD issues, (3) Lead the coalition to develop and track an Implementation Plan to achieve the priorities, activities, and goals specified in the jurisdiction’s ADRD Strategic Plan, (4) Educate members of the public, (5) Educate providers and other professionals, (6) Increase the availability and use of data to improve knowledge and decision making about ADRD goals and activities, (7) Improve sustainability of jurisdiction ADRD efforts; (8) Increase the number of community-clinical linkages among healthcare systems and services, public health agencies, and community. Proposed activities will build upon the RIADRDP’s ability to plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate statewide activities to support people living with dementia and their caregivers, including: (1) Increase the RI ADRD Advisory Council members, (2) Connect subject matter experts to the RI ADRD Advisory Council and key partners, (3) Develop an Implementation Plan that identifies champions to carry out objectives in the State Plan on ADRD, (4) Support public, provider, and professional education such as the Brain Health Toolkit or Project ECHO that address primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention, (5) Increase awareness of the supports and services available to people living with dementia, (6) Engage with community-based organizations that support target populations, (7) Advance primary care transformation efforts by piloting dementia-focused quality measures, (8) Expand dementia-friendly community initiatives that address social determinants of health, (9) Support workforce development activities by increasing training opportunities for direct care workers, (10) Leverage accessible data on ADRD to inform the RI ADRD Surveillance System, (11) Engage health system partners in bi-directional referral mechanisms that enhance community-clinical linkages.
