In December 2017, the Ministry of Health and Care Services launched the National Brain Health Strategy (2018-2024) (Norwegian Government, 2017). This strategy was developed with input from the Directorate of Health, the Norwegian Brain Council and many professional environments and user organisations (Ministry of Health and Care Services, 2017). The timeframe for the national brain health strategy covered the period from 2018 through to 2024 inclusive.
The strategy was to provide direction within prevention, health promotion measures, investigation, treatment, habilitation, rehabilitation and research and innovation. The brain health strategy aimed to ensure appropriate investigation, adequate treatment and facilitated follow-up of users and patients, while safeguarding the interests of relatives. The strategy set out goals, provided direction to achieve them and served as a foundation for political decisions and actions. The main focus was placed on the responsibilities of the municipal health and care services and the specialist health service. The strategy also highlighted the ability of individuals to enhance their own brain health and cope with life with limited functional capacity due to a brain disease (ibid.).
The National Brain Health Strategy (2018-2024) was the first political strategy concerning brain health to be launched anywhere in the world (Norwegian Government, 2023). Internationally, more and more people are becoming aware of the Norwegian brain health strategy and interested in the experiences that Norway has gained (Aamodt et al., 2024; Avan et al., 2023; Bassetti et al., 2022; Chen et al. 2021; Fundacja NeuroPozytywni, 2019; Hachinski et al., 2024; Hjärnfonden, 2023b; World Health Organization, 2022).
The brain health strategy had four primary objectives and a total of 29 sub-objectives. The four primary objectives of the strategy were:
- Good lifelong brain health, prevention and quality of life
- Health and care services that are more user-centred and take better care of relatives
- Good care from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis, treatment, habilitation and rehabilitation
- Adequate knowledge and quality through research and innovation