Alzheimer's disease and related dementias are a growing public health concern. In Idaho, Alzheimer's is the seventh leading cause of death and Idahoans die of dementia at a rate consistently higher than the national average.
Idaho's response to these diseases has been fragmented compared to other states, according to a report from Idaho's Office of Performance Evaluations released in December 2020.
"Idaho had a state plan to address dementia that was developed in 2013," said Sasha O'Connell, a senior evaluator with the OPE office who authored the report. "The legislature endorsed this with concurrent resolutions, but we found that there was very little progress that had been made on this state plan, and that's in part because no one was in charge of executing it."
The 2020 report highlighted that other states have more robust prevention efforts related to Alzheimer's and were better integrated into those states' public health infrastructure.
Studies show Alzheimer's can be prevented or delayed by addressing key risk factors. For that reason and the growing burden it places on the health system, Alzheimer's is increasingly understood as a public health issue and not just a medical condition affecting people of older age.
In an update to legislators last week, O'Connell said the state had made some progress in 2021 on the report's recommendations.
Idaho dedicated $275,000 toward a state Alzheimer's coordinator for the first time. The position was filled last summer.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare was also awarded a $275,000 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant in 2021 for Alzheimer's response, after previously being denied. Health officials believe the state's investment in the coordinator position made Idaho more competitive the next time it applied for the federal grant.
Additionally, for the first time, the Department of Health and Welfare formed an Alzheimer's steering committee last summer, partnering with the Commission on Aging.
Making an Alzheimer's and related dementia website and developing a new response plan are among the next steps the Department has identified.
Find reporter Rachel Cohen on Twitter @racheld_cohen
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