“The progressive aging of the population, especially in Italy, makes it increasingly urgent to provide responses that look not only to the present but especially to the medium and long term,” the Minister added. In Italy, around 1.2 million people are estimated to have dementia, with over half suffering from Alzheimer’s, and approximately 900,000 experiencing mild neurocognitive disorders. “Behind the numbers, there are always people, families with health, care, and social needs, who ask us for continuity, expertise, and closeness. This is even more pronounced when we talk about dementia,” Schillaci continued, announcing that the Ministry is working on “a funding proposal within the next budget law to further enhance prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and support activities for people with dementia and their caregivers.” Resources that will be added to those provided by the fund dedicated to dementia, which is financed with 35 million euros for the three-year period 2024-2026, and those from the national health fund.
The Plan, which will be presented in the Unified Conference, has been developed by the Permanent Table on Dementia, in collaboration with the Dementia Observatory of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, regions, autonomous provinces, family associations, scientific societies, and industry experts. The document aims to strengthen the system’s capacity to meet the needs of individuals with dementia and their families, promoting a more structured and appropriate care approach at different stages of the disease. The National Dementia Plan defines clear objectives, measurable indicators, and identifies seven areas of action: making dementia a public health priority, integrating it into all national and regional social and health policies; promoting knowledge and public attention to create an inclusive and friendly social context; addressing modifiable risk factors to reduce risk; building integrated healthcare and social support systems capable of caring for individuals from the diagnosis phase to end-of-life, always respecting their centrality and preferences; providing adequate support to those caring for individuals with dementia, both formally and informally; creating or enhancing dedicated Information Systems to ensure constant monitoring and evaluation aimed at improving intervention programming; promoting scientific research and innovation, and implementing them in line with the identified priorities.
For each area, objectives, actions, and indicators have been defined to allow monitoring of the Plan’s implementation and evaluation of the results achieved. The National Dementia Plan includes a total of 43 national objectives, 58 actions for their achievement, and 64 indicators for evaluation. Among the expected outcomes from the adoption of the document is the strengthening of the network of services dedicated to diagnosis, treatment, and support for individuals with dementia. The Plan also aims to ensure appropriate and continuous care across all care settings (from home to facilities) by enhancing personnel and focusing on the necessary aids to support the individual’s autonomy, also planning specific dedicated investments.
The National Dementia Plan acknowledges the crucial role of caregivers and allocates a specific intervention line for their training and support. It further strengthens the commitment to research across various areas of dementia, from prevention and diagnosis to assistance, rehabilitation, secondary, and tertiary prevention, through the enhancement of experiences and projects developed in recent years.
