The National Health Commission and 15 other departments jointly released the "National Action Plan for Addressing Dementia in the Elderly (2024-2030)", proposing that by 2030, China will establish a comprehensive and continuous prevention and control system for dementia in the elderly, including prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and care.

During the action period, various regions will establish grassroots medical and health institutions, hospitals, disease control institutions, etc. to jointly participate in the work mechanism, service network, and team of cognitive function screening and early intervention, and promote the initial screening of cognitive function for elderly people aged 65 and above.

In addition, various regions should establish a care service model for elderly dementia that connects home, community, and institutional settings; Promote the aging adaptation of families with dementia elderly individuals; Explore the development of family elderly care beds to provide professional and standardized home care services for dementia elderly people.

National Action Plan for Addressing Dementia in Older Age (2024-2030)

With the acceleration of population aging and the extension of life expectancy, the number of elderly dementia patients in China continues to grow, posing severe challenges to individuals, families, and society, and has become a major social issue affecting people's health. In order to actively respond to the aging population and do a good job in preventing and controlling dementia in the elderly, this action plan is formulated in accordance with the requirements of the "Opinions of the State Council on Implementing the Healthy China Action Plan" and the World Health Organization's Global Action Plan for Dementia in the Public Health Sector.

1、 Overall requirements

By 2030, the scientific knowledge of dementia prevention and control will be basically popularized, cognitive function screening for the elderly will be comprehensively carried out, early intervention will be provided to elderly dementia risk groups, standardized diagnosis and treatment mechanisms will be more perfect, care service capabilities will steadily improve, a comprehensive and continuous prevention and control system for elderly dementia prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment, rehabilitation, and care will be basically established, the growth rate of elderly dementia incidence will be effectively controlled, and positive results will be achieved in the construction of a friendly social environment for elderly dementia.

Main Objectives Main Objectives

2、 Main tasks

（1） Promote popular science knowledge on prevention and control of dementia in the elderly. Make the prevention and control of dementia in the elderly a key focus of basic public health service health education and national education on population aging. By utilizing themed events such as World Alzheimer's Month, Respect for the Elderly Month, and Elderly Health Promotion Week, and utilizing various communication methods, we aim to promote science popularization and education on dementia in the elderly throughout society, popularize knowledge on dementia prevention and control, strengthen awareness of prevention and health care, and establish a social trend of respecting and caring for the elderly with dementia. Through various forms such as distributing promotional materials, releasing science popularization videos, holding expert lectures, and offering relevant courses at senior universities, we help elderly people establish disease prevention and control concepts such as risk factor control, regular screening, and timely medical treatment, and develop a lifestyle that is conducive to brain health. (The National Health Commission, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Civil Affairs, State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention, and China Disabled Persons' Federation are responsible for their respective duties.)

（2） Carry out screening and early intervention for dementia in the elderly. Establish a working mechanism, service network, and team for grassroots medical and health institutions, hospitals, and disease control institutions to jointly participate in cognitive function screening and early intervention. Conduct specialized training on cognitive function screening and early intervention. Combining basic public health elderly health management services, promote the initial screening of cognitive function for elderly people aged 65 and above. Encourage medical and health institutions with service capabilities to conduct further cognitive function assessments on the initial screening positive population, and carry out early intervention work such as health education, healthy lifestyle guidance, risk factor management, and cognitive training; For elderly individuals whose cognitive function assessment results are still abnormal, guidance should be given to refer them to qualified medical and health institutions for treatment. Support social workers and volunteers to participate in cognitive function screening and early intervention services for the elderly. (The National Health Commission, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Finance, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and State Administration for Disease Control and Prevention are responsible for their respective duties.)

（3） Improve the standardized diagnosis and treatment service level of dementia in the elderly. By establishing a two-way referral system between primary healthcare institutions and higher-level hospitals, we aim to build a comprehensive disease management service system for elderly dementia, including screening, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and follow-up. County level and above comprehensive hospitals, traditional Chinese medicine hospitals, or specialized hospitals provide standardized diagnosis and treatment for elderly dementia, establish a linkage mechanism for referral and consultation with higher-level medical and health institutions, and guide lower level medical and health institutions to carry out follow-up management and other work. Encourage medical and health institutions to establish memory clinics, and support county-level and above comprehensive hospitals, traditional Chinese medicine hospitals, or specialized hospitals to establish cognitive impairment diagnosis and treatment specialties. Strengthen pharmaceutical service guidance for elderly dementia and promote safe medication for elderly dementia patients. Through a combination of online and offline methods, we will provide hospital community home-based rehabilitation services for elderly dementia. Relevant national medical centers and regional medical centers should fully leverage their leading role in clinical research, talent cultivation, technology transformation, and management demonstration, and continuously improve the overall technical level and service capabilities of elderly dementia diagnosis and treatment nationwide. Improve the diagnosis and treatment standards related to dementia in the elderly, strengthen the construction of disciplines and professional training, and enhance the allocation of corresponding professional personnel at all levels, especially in grassroots medical and health institutions. Give full play to the role of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of elderly dementia, promote the construction of traditional Chinese medicine specialties such as the Brain Disease Department and Geriatrics Department in traditional Chinese medicine hospitals, and strengthen the construction of traditional Chinese medicine specialty clinics related to elderly dementia. (The National Health Commission, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Education, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, State Medical Products Administration, and China Disabled Persons' Federation are responsible for their respective duties.)

（4） Increase the supply of care services for elderly people with dementia. Establish a nursing service model for elderly dementia that connects home, community, and institutions, providing targeted care services for dementia elderly people according to different stages of the disease. Promote the aging adaptation of families for elderly people with dementia, and enhance the safety and convenience of their home life. Explore the development of family elderly care beds to provide professional and standardized home care services for dementia elderly people. Support the construction of relevant care facilities in urban and rural communities, providing daytime care, short-term care, cognitive training, emergency rescue and other care services to elderly people with dementia. Accelerate the construction of dementia care areas (units) in elderly care service institutions, and encourage and support the construction of specialized care institutions for dementia elderly. Include eligible elderly dementia patients in the long-term care insurance system according to regulations, develop commercial long-term care insurance, and reduce the burden on families of elderly dementia patients. Strengthen the training of professionals related to dementia care in vocational education, incorporate knowledge and care skills for elderly dementia prevention and control into the training content of relevant majors (occupations), expand enrollment scale, and carry out specialized training. (The Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the National Health Commission, the National Medical Insurance Bureau, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the China Disabled Persons' Federation are responsible for their respective duties.)

（5） Building a dementia friendly social environment for the elderly. Improve laws and regulations on the protection of the rights and interests of the elderly, prohibit discrimination, insult, abuse, or abandonment of elderly people with dementia, and effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of elderly people with dementia. Implement the guardianship system and clarify the responsibilities of guardians for elderly people with dementia. Strengthen the prevention of injury risks and emergency rescue services for elderly people with dementia, and provide timely support and assistance to elderly people with dementia in public service areas such as public transportation, civil affairs assistance, public security management, and community services. Promote and advocate through various means, creating a social atmosphere of respect, understanding, tolerance, and care for elderly people with dementia. Fully utilize community service resources and establish a support service network for elderly dementia patients in the community. Strengthen social support for family caregivers of elderly dementia patients, and effectively alleviate their mental and caregiving stress through providing psychological counseling and respite services. (The National Health Commission, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Transport, State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention, and China Disabled Persons' Federation are responsible for their respective duties.)

（6） Strengthen the technological support capability for coping with dementia in the elderly. Intensify support for research on dementia in the elderly through national key research and development programs, major science and technology projects, and the National Natural Science Foundation. Relying on national key laboratories, national clinical research centers, and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, we actively promote technological innovation in the prevention and control of dementia in the elderly. Organize interdisciplinary collaborative research and strive to achieve breakthroughs in exploring the pathogenesis of dementia in the elderly, developing new technologies for prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation, creating new therapeutic drugs, and developing traditional Chinese medicine prevention and treatment plans, and promoting the transformation and application of related scientific and technological achievements. Actively promote the application of Internet, big data, artificial intelligence, etc. in the prevention and control of senile dementia, and promote the integration and innovation of biotechnology and information technology in the field of prevention and control of senile dementia. Strengthen the collection and management of information on elderly dementia nationwide, organize and carry out a national epidemiological survey on elderly dementia, and grasp the prevalence of elderly dementia and its risk factors nationwide. (The Ministry of Science and Technology, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, National Health Commission, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention, National Medical Products Administration, and China Disabled Persons' Federation are responsible for their respective duties.)

（7） Strengthen external communication and cooperation to address dementia in the elderly. Support the prioritization of addressing dementia as a global public health issue and its inclusion in the construction of a human health community. Strengthen external exchanges and cooperation, share public policy experience, and jointly promote the construction of dementia prevention and control system. Strengthen the sharing of resources and technologies for dementia prevention and control. Intensify the promotion of appropriate technologies and achievements in traditional Chinese medicine for preventing dementia in the elderly, and deepen international cooperation in traditional Chinese medicine. Strengthen medical cooperation and joint scientific research to promote the development of dementia diagnosis and treatment technology. Strengthen academic exchanges and personnel training. Promote mutual learning and exchange of concepts and technologies in dementia prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and care. (The National Health Commission, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention are responsible for their respective duties.)

3、 Organize and implement

This action plan is led by the National Health Commission, and jointly promoted and implemented by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Transport, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the National Medical Insurance Administration, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the National CDC, the National Medical Products Administration, the China Disabled Persons' Federation and other departments and units according to their respective responsibilities. Efforts should be made in various regions to address dementia in the elderly as an important part of people's livelihood construction, and existing resources should be utilized in a coordinated manner to ensure the implementation of various tasks. Encourage government agencies, enterprises, institutions, and social forces to participate in the prevention and control of dementia in the elderly. The National Health Commission, together with relevant departments, conducted research and evaluation, strengthened supervision and guidance, timely summarized experience, and promoted the smooth implementation of the action plan.

Policy interpretation

1、 What is the background of drafting the Action Plan?

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council attach great importance to the response to dementia in the elderly. In 2019, the State Council issued the "Opinions on Implementing the Healthy China Action Plan", which set "by 2030, the growth rate of dementia in the elderly population aged 65 and above will decrease" as one of the outcome indicators. The World Health Organization has released the Global Action Plan for Responding to Dementia in the Public Health Sector (2017-2025), which requires governments around the world to develop strategies, plans, policies, and programs to address dementia based on their own national conditions.

In order to implement the deployment requirements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, respond to the initiative of the World Health Organization, and comprehensively promote the prevention and control of dementia in the elderly, the National Health Commission took the lead in drafting and jointly issuing the Action Plan with 14 departments.

2、 What is the overall consideration of the Action Plan?

The overall goal of the Action Plan is to achieve basic popularization of scientific knowledge on dementia prevention and control, comprehensive screening of cognitive function in the elderly, early intervention for elderly dementia risk groups, improved standardized diagnosis and treatment mechanisms, steady improvement of care service capabilities, basic establishment of a comprehensive and continuous prevention and control system for elderly dementia prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment, rehabilitation, and care, effective control of the growth rate of elderly dementia incidence, and positive results in the construction of a friendly social environment for elderly dementia by 2030.

3、 What are the main tasks deployed in the Action Plan?

The Action Plan proposes seven main tasks, including promoting popular science knowledge on the prevention and control of senile dementia, conducting screening and early intervention for senile dementia, improving standardized diagnosis and treatment services for senile dementia, increasing the supply of care services for senile dementia patients, building a friendly social environment for senile dementia patients, strengthening technological support capabilities for coping with senile dementia, and enhancing external exchanges and cooperation in coping with senile dementia.

Set up 9 project columns around 7 main tasks, including the World Alzheimer's Month theme promotion activity project, cognitive function screening and early intervention ability improvement project, "Guarding Memory" community cognitive training activity station project, Alzheimer's disease full course service collaboration network project, Alzheimer's disease related specialist physician training project, dementia elderly care special area (unit) construction project, dementia elderly care personnel training project, "Yellow Bracelet" dementia elderly care action project, and elderly dementia information management project.

4、 What are the safeguard measures in the Action Plan?

The Action Plan is led by the National Health Commission, and jointly promoted and implemented by departments and units such as the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, Ministry of Transport, State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, National Healthcare Security Administration, National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention, National Medical Products Administration, and China Disabled Persons' Federation according to their respective responsibilities.

The Action Plan requires all regions to make addressing dementia in old age an important part of people's livelihood construction, coordinate the use of existing resources, and ensure the implementation of various tasks. Encourage government agencies, enterprises, institutions, and social forces to participate in the prevention and control of dementia in the elderly. The National Health Commission, together with relevant departments, conducts research and evaluation, strengthens guidance, and supervises the completion of various goals and tasks.