BOLD Public Health Programs to Address Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias

The BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act was passed into law on December 31, 2018 (P.L. 115-406) and amends the Public Health Service Act (Section 398A; 42 U.S.C. 280c-3-4). The activities outlined in BOLD are designed to create a uniform national public health infrastructure with a focus on issues such as increasing early detection and diagnosis, risk reduction, prevention of avoidable hospitalizations, and supporting dementia caregiving. It’s designed to promote implementation of CDC’s Healthy Brain Initiative State and Local Public Health Partnerships to Address Dementia: The 2023-2027 Road Map and the Healthy Brain Initiative Road Map for Indian Country.

The South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) is one of 43 state health departments funded to promote a strong public health approach to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). DPH was first awarded BOLD in 2021 and was recently awarded again for five years. Recipients are focused on changing systems, environments and policies to promote risk reduction, to improve early diagnosis, to prevent and manage comorbidities, and to avoid hospitalizations. To accomplish this public health approach to Alzheimer’s disease, recipients are using data to set priorities, to develop public health actions, to address social determinants of health, and to provide support for caregivers who take care of people with dementias.

During the first iteration of BOLD, DPH created a new statewide strategic plan to address ADRD. Through the new BOLD award, receiving component 2 funds, DPH will be funded for five implementation years to conduct ADRD activities in line with the strategic plan and Road Map actions. DISAP will work with the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) Resource Coordination Center Advisory Council to implement activities outlined in South Carolina's statewide strategic plan and build upon the “Take Brain Health to Heart” educational campaign.  

BOLD Program Specifics

Length of project: Five-year CDC cooperative agreement, 9/30/2023 - 9/29/2028
Level of funding: Component 2
Project goals:

• Continue and expand the statewide ADRD coalition-ARCC
• Work with the ARCC to develop an Implementation Plan to guide activities- outlined in the statewide ADRD strategic plan, which is based on the Healthy Brain Initiative, State and Local Public Health Partnerships to Address Dementia: The 2018-2023 Road Map. Specifically:
  • E-1 - Educate the public about brain health, risk reduction, and early detection
  • E-2 - Integrate best available evidence about brain health and cognitive decline risk factors into existing health communications
  • P-1 - Promote the use of effective interventions to protect brain health
  • W-1 - Educate public health and healthcare professionals on sources on reliable info about brain health
  • W-3 - Educate public health professionals on best available evidence on brain health
  • M-1 - Implement BRFSS Cognitive Decline (2022) and Caregiving modules (2021)
  • M-3 - Use data gleaned from surveillance strategies to inform public health program and policy response
• Provider education
• Build upon the previous “Take Brain Health to Heart” educational and communications campaign.
• Increase the availability of and use of ADRD data.
• Develop community-clinical linkages among health care systems and existing services, public health agencies, and community-based organizations.

 
Resources

• BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act
• Healthy Brain Initiative - State and Local Public Health Partnerships to Address Dementia: The 2023-2027 Road Map
• Healthy Brain Initiative (HBI) Road Map Module
• SC Statewide Plan to Address ADRD 2023-2028 (pdf)
• 2023-2028 Strategic Plan: Executive Summary (pdf)
• Brain Health - Learn the Facts (pdf)
• Controlling Risk Factors (pdf)
• 10 Ways to Love Your Brain (pdf)