Luo Yu-Ting, Guan Xin, Xiong Qian, Wang Huali
School of Public Policy and Administration, Nanchang University, Jiangxi 330031, China.
Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China.
Lancet Reg Health West Pac. 2025 May 3;58:101561. doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2025.101561. eCollection 2025 May.
Dementia has emerged as a critical public health issue on the global policy agenda. Over the past 25 years, China has increasingly recognized the significant challenges posed by dementia and has made substantial strides in formulating relevant policies. This study aims to analyze the strategic framework of China's dementia policy development to provide valuable insights for other low- and middle-income countries as they draft their national action plans.
Policy documents were systematically searched and retrieved from the official websites of pertinent policy agencies. The evolutionary phases of dementia policies were identified based on the timeline of policy issuance. A comparative thematic analysis was conducted to explore the evolution of policy content. Additionally, WordCloud analysis was utilized to examine the frequency of relevant terms within these documents. Co-occurrence network diagrams were then created to illustrate the evolving trends in the relationships among key terms and activities related to dementia care.
A total of 36 policy documents were included in this study. Three distinct phases were identified over the past 25 years: an incipient phase (2000-2014), a development phase (2015-2018), and a boom phase (2019-2024). Themes within dementia policies have progressively expanded and enriched across these phases. There has been a notable shift in focus from "intervention" during the incipient phase to "dementia prevention" in the boom phase, with themes such as "screening and evaluation" and "public education" gaining prominence. Stakeholder involvement has diversified to include entities like "community," "institutions," and "social workers." Moreover, the scope of potential beneficiaries has broadened from "patients" to encompass "family members" and "caregivers." The number of nodes related to dementia policies has increased, and their interconnections have strengthened over time.
Over 25 years, the themes, content, and stakeholders involved in China's dementia-related policies have expanded significantly. Furthermore, the interconnection among key terms and content has grown stronger. These findings offer valuable references for advancing national dementia initiatives and updating dementia action plans in low- and middle-income countries.
Jiangxi Province Key Research Base Program for Philosophy and Social Sciences (23ZXSKJD28) and Beijing Medical Award Foundation.
痴呆症已成为全球政策议程上的一个关键公共卫生问题。在过去25年里，中国日益认识到痴呆症带来的重大挑战，并在制定相关政策方面取得了长足进展。本研究旨在分析中国痴呆症政策发展的战略框架，为其他低收入和中等收入国家制定国家行动计划提供有价值的见解。
从相关政策机构的官方网站上系统地搜索和检索政策文件。根据政策发布的时间线确定痴呆症政策的演变阶段。进行了比较主题分析，以探索政策内容的演变。此外，利用词云分析来检查这些文件中相关术语的出现频率。然后创建共现网络图，以说明与痴呆症护理相关的关键术语和活动之间关系的演变趋势。
本研究共纳入36份政策文件。在过去25年里确定了三个不同阶段：初始阶段（2000 - 2014年）、发展阶段（2015 - 2018年）和繁荣阶段（2019 - 2024年）。痴呆症政策中的主题在这些阶段逐渐扩展和丰富。重点已从初始阶段的“干预”显著转向繁荣阶段的“痴呆症预防”，“筛查与评估”和“公众教育”等主题日益突出。利益相关者的参与已多样化，包括“社区”、“机构”和“社会工作者”等实体。此外，潜在受益人的范围已从“患者”扩大到包括“家庭成员”和“护理人员”。与痴呆症政策相关的节点数量增加，并且它们之间的相互联系随着时间的推移而加强。
在25年的时间里，中国与痴呆症相关政策所涉及的主题、内容和利益相关者都有了显著扩展。此外，关键术语和内容之间的相互联系也变得更加紧密。这些发现为推进低收入和中等收入国家的国家痴呆症倡议以及更新痴呆症行动计划提供了有价值的参考。
江西省哲学社会科学重点研究基地项目（23ZXSKJD28）和北京医学奖励基金会。
