From states of confusion to a national action plan for dementia care: the development of policies for dementia care in Australia.
The release of Australia's National Action Plan for Dementia Care in 1992 was the culmination of more than a decade of policy development over which the federal government assumed an increasing role, and the participatory approach fostered under its Social Justice Strategy promoted collectivist and political attempts to address the issues of dementia care. This article begins with an account of four phases of policy development, with the transition from one to the next marked by changes in thinking about dementia care being incorporated into policy and then expressed in programmes and in care practices. In the second part of the article, the goals and structure of the National Action Plan are outlined and its implementation and outcomes discussed. Continuation of the policy climate in which the National Action Plan was formulated is a crucial, but uncertain, factor for future development.
Howe
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Faculty of Health Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006291:Health Policy / Q000639:trends*; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000639:trends*