UK dementia prevention policies and initiatives across the life-course: a scoping review (2009-2024).

Overview

1. UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, 7 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR UK

Abstract

Background: Dementia is a growing public health challenge, with up to 45% of cases potentially preventable through modification of life-course risk factors. Although UK policies increasingly recognise prevention, the extent to which strategies are effectively implemented, evaluated, and equitably delivered remains unclear. This study aimed to systematically map and critically evaluate UK dementia-prevention strategies, with a focus on their reach, implementation, life-course coverage, and equity.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidelines. We searched PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, alongside grey literature sources including government, NHS, and non-governmental organisation reports, to identify dementia-prevention strategies implemented in the UK between 2009 and 2024. Eligible records included national policies, public health campaigns, clinical initiatives, and professional resources addressing modifiable dementia risk factors. Strategies were analysed using the RE-AIM framework (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance), with additional consideration of life-course targeting and equity.

Results: Twenty-three strategies were identified across policy, campaign, clinical, and professional domains. Dementia prevention was frequently embedded within broader non-communicable disease agendas rather than addressed through dedicated policies. Government-led campaigns (e.g. One You, Couch to 5 K) achieved high population reach but lacked explicit brain-health framing, while non-governmental campaigns (e.g. Reduce Your Risk, Think Brain Health) provided dementia-specific messaging but operated at smaller scale with limited evaluation. Clinical and professional initiatives (e.g. NICE NG16, NHS Health Checks) demonstrated variable uptake and inconsistent implementation. Across all domains, effectiveness and long-term maintenance were poorly evidenced due to limited follow-up and weak monitoring approaches. Most strategies focused on mid-life populations, with minimal attention to early- or late-life prevention, and no reporting on socioeconomic and ethnic inequalities.

Conclusions: UK dementia-prevention efforts remain fragmented, under-evaluated, and insufficiently targeted across the life-course and many population groups. Strengthening prevention will require a dedicated national strategy with measurable indicators, integration of risk-reduction into routine healthcare and community settings, expansion of early-life interventions, and implementation of standardised evaluation frameworks with equity monitoring. Without these changes, opportunities to reduce dementia risk and its associated societal and economic burden may be missed.

Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-026-27289-1.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

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Data availability

All data used in this review were derived from publicly available policy documents, organisational reports, and published literature. The datasets generated and analysed during the current study consist solely of these publicly accessible sources and are fully cited within the manuscript. No additional datasets were created.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

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Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 2 authors, 7 keywords, 5 MeSH terms, 12 references.

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This paper

Luthra, N., & Islam, A. S. (2026). UK dementia prevention policies and initiatives across the life-course: a scoping review (2009-2024). BMC public health, 26(1), 1616. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-27289-1

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