A Narrative Review on Policy Responses to Social Determinants of Health Related to Dementia in England
Dilisha Wijesinghe *
Department of Social Work, Education & Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University, Newcastle, United Kingdom.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Dementia, being the leading cause of death in England, has led to dementia-focused strategy and policy implementation since 2009. However, deaths due to dementia are still increasing. The aim of this study is to identify the policy implementation gap by exploring the social determinants of health related to dementia. In this narrative review, firstly, the determinants were identified through peer-reviewed articles published in English between 2000 and 2026, retrieved from PubMed, Google Scholar, JSTOR and ScienceDirect databases. Secondly, policies that address all the social determinants of health related to dementia were identified through government policy briefs and reports. The extracted data was subsequently assessed to identify the policy implementation gaps. Drawing on the evidence from peer reviewed, published articles, this review demonstrates a wide range of social determinants of health linked to dementia under social, economic, biological, technological and environmental categories. The identified policies were further categorized into three categories; health promotion, health protection and healthcare services. The review highlights the need of attention to the policies that mainly address deprivation. Additionally, policy focus on prevention and management of dementia and advances in research industry is important to reduce the prevalence of dementia in England. A multi-faceted, collaborative approach would be beneficial to achieve this. Future research should gather the perspectives of the stakeholders and inform more responsive policies.
Keywords: Dementia, policy making, social determinants of health, England