Dementia policy revisited: an analysis of the state laws targeted towards individuals with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

Even though state governments assume public responsibility for persons with dementia, formal analysis of state laws concerning individuals with Alzhemier's disease and other forms of dementia has been rare. We responded to this by collecting and evaluating state legislation targeted towards individuals with dementia. These laws were collected by searching online statutory archives and were defined by the type of action, year of passage, and legislative purpose. Our research revealed that the legislatures have targeted an average of slightly more than five action towards persons with dementia. We also discovered that the earliest legislative act targeting individuals with dementia was passed by South Dakota in 1939, and by the end of the 1997 sessions, 49 state legislatures had enacted at least one targeted law. We sorted the variety of legislative actions into eight categories and illuminated how the purposes of these laws differed from one state legislature to the next. This research expands knowledge concerning state policies targeting people with dementia, imtroduces a reliable method of collecting state laws, and contributes to the advocacy effort made on behalf of persons with dementia.