In the summer of 2023, the Ministry of Health and Care Services announced that it would present a new and updated brain health strategy in 2025 (Norwegian Government, 2023). In 2024, the Directorate of Health was therefore commissioned by the Ministry to draft an updated strategy, with the following remit:
“The Directorate of Health is asked to prepare a draft version of an updated brain health strategy. Although the draft will primarily build on existing overarching objectives, it may be necessary to develop new sub-objectives. Reference is made to the Public Health Report, the Escalation Plan for Mental Health and the National Health and Coordination Plan (2024) as a basis for the Government’s health and care policy. The Directorate is asked to determine the status of the brain health field as a basis for the update, so that an updated strategy also presents the results that have been achieved through the work to date. The partnership and other relevant stakeholders shall be involved in the process.” (Ministry of Health and Care Services, 2024a, p. 23, assignment TB2024-47).
The Directorate of Health’s assignment was continued with somewhat similar wording in the letter of allocation from the Ministry of Health and Care Services in 2025 (Ministry of Health and Care Services, 2025, p. 28, assignment TB2025-40).
This document (‘the background report’) aims to provide the Ministry of Health and Care Services with an updated knowledge base for the design of the updated brain health strategy that is to be launched in 2025. The background report describes the process for obtaining insight and other information that will form a basis for the work of the Directorate of Health in drafting the updated brain health strategy. The Directorate of Health’s proposed sub-objectives are included in the draft updated brain health strategy and not in this document. The draft updated brain health strategy will hereinafter be referred to as ‘the draft’.
The national brain health strategy for the period 2018 to 2024 primarily focused on the responsibilities of the health and care services. At the same time, the brain health of the population is also promoted in the various arenas in which individuals spend and live their lives, such as at home, school or the workplace, or during their leisure time. The Directorate of Health has interpreted the task of drafting a new strategy as involving an update to the previous strategy, in line with the wording of the assignment and the dialogue with the Ministry. The principal orientation in the previous strategy has therefore been retained, with the consequence that the updated strategy is also not cross-sectoral.