Dementia is a devastating condition for the people affected, their family and friends, and for health systems.

The OECD has been working on how health systems need to be adapted to rise to the challenge; we look at ways to harness information technologies and big data to improve the prevention and treatment of the disease; and we examine the innovation model to mobilise the research and tools needed to address dementia.

Renewing priority for dementia: Where do we stand?

World Dementia Council Summit

London, 5 December 2018

Across the OECD, 19 million men and women are living with dementia, with far too many experiencing a poor quality of life. Worldwide, someone develops dementia every three seconds. With no clinical breakthroughs, the number of people with dementia is set to grow and OECD countries are under increasing pressure to address the consequences of dementia.

As global leaders return to London on 5 December 2018 to discuss dementia, five years after the World Dementia Council was established following the December 2013 G8 Summit on Dementia, this new OECD Policy Brief looks at what progress countries have made over the past five years.

• Read the OECD Policy Brief Renewing priority for dementia: Where do we stand?
• Download the OECD leaflet produced for the event: Improving the lives of people with dementia
• Download the World Dementia Council report Defeating dementia: The road to 2025

Care for Better Lives

Many people living with dementia do not receive a timely diagnosis and face poor quality of life, while carers are under huge strain. The OECD is working to support countries in implementing policies to improve the lives of people living with dementia.

Innovation for Improved Diagnostics and Therapies

How can innovation in science and technology be used as a tool to combat dementia? Finding a cure, preventive options, and effective diagnostics must be the long-term goal of global dementia policy.

Open Science and Data for Global Cooperation

Although there is a clear potential to improve science and innovation systems through big data and open science, barriers still remain. The OECD is working with policy makers, funding agencies and researchers to encourage open access to data, and develop good practice and principles on data governance.

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Contact: Ms. Elina Suzuki (elina.suzuki@oecd.org)

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Contact: Mr. Hermann Garden (hermann.garden@oecd.org)

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Contact: sti.contact@oecd.org

Featured publications

Care Needed: Improving the Lives of People with Dementia

12 June 2018

Across the OECD, nearly 19 million people are living with dementia. Millions of family members and friends provide care and support to loved ones with dementia throughout their lives. Globally, dementia costs over USD 1 trillion per year and represents one of the leading causes of disability for elderly adults. These numbers will continue to rise as populations age. Until a cure or disease-modifying treatment for dementia is developed, the progress of the disease cannot be stopped. This report presents the most up-to-date and comprehensive cross-country assessment of the state of dementia care in OECD countries. In recent years, OECD countries have enhanced their efforts to provide high-quality dementia care during diagnosis, early and advanced dementia, but improving measurement is necessary for enhancements in care quality and outcomes for people with dementia.

Addressing Dementia: The OECD Response

Mars 2015

The large and growing human and financial cost of dementia provides an imperative for policy action. It is already the second largest cause of disability for the over-70s and it costs $645bn per year globally, and ageing populations mean that these costs will grow. There is no cure or effective treatment for dementia, and too often people do not get appropriate health and care services, leading to a poor quality of life. Our failure to tackle these issues provides a compelling illustration of some of today’s most pressing policy challenges. We need to rethink our research an innovation model, since progress on dementia has stalled and investment is just a fraction of what it is for other diseases of similar importance and profile.

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Dementia Research and Care - Can Big Data Help?

February 2015

What potential does Big Data hold for finding new approaches to discovering a cure and disease-modifying therapies and to improve social care services for the growing number of people with dementia?

Government leadership and public-private partnerships will be needed to create and sustain big data resources. Key next steps are to create national infrastructures supporting “broad and deep” data; to develop international benchmarks to compare the performance of health systems; and to develop an international pilot project to demonstrate the benefits of linking broad and deep data to dementia research and care.

Unleashing the Power of Big Data for Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Research

March 2014

Main Points of the OECD Expert Consultation on Unlocking Global Collaboration to Accelerate Innovation for Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia

A Good Life in Old Age?
Monitoring and Improving Quality in Long-term Care

June 2013

As ageing societies are pushing a growing number of frail old people into needing care, delivering quality long-term care services – care that is safe, effective, and responsive to needs – has become a priority for governments. Yet much still remains to be done to enhance evidence-based measurement and improvement of quality of long-term care services across EU and OECD countries. This book offers evidence and examples of useful experiences to help policy makers, providers and experts measure and improve the quality of long-term care services.

To access the complete library of OECD resources on dementia, including publications and freely available working and policy papers, click here

World Dementia Council Summit
London, 5 December 2018

Global Action to Drive Innovation in Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias: Connecting Research, Regulation and Access 2015 Workshop
Lausanne, 15-16 December 2015

First WHO Ministerial Conference on Global Action Against Dementia 
Geneva, 16-17 March 2015

Enhancing Translational Research and Clinical Development in Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementia: The Way Forward Workshop
Lausanne, 11-12 November 2014

Unlocking Global Collaboration to Accelerate Innovation for Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia
Oxford, 20 June 2013