State legislation concerning individuals with dementia: An evaluation of three theoretical models of policy formation

Purpose: This study examined the formation of state government policies con cerning persons with dementia. In particular, we identified variables assoc iated with the passage of pertinent state laws by testing three theoretical models of policy formation: the iron triangle, the policy system, and an i ntegrated model. Methods: We sam pled 44 states and counted the number of l aws concerning individuals with dement ia that passed during the 1998 legis lative sessions. We constructed nine independent variables to represent the three theoretical models of state policy formation. Then the number of leg islative actions were regressed onto each model. Results:The integrated mod el that consisted of political actors, legislative features, and environmen tal inputs met goodness-of-fit criteria for a maximum likelihood regression analysis (chi (2)/df = 1.55). The advocacy effort of the Alzheimer's Assoc iation, number of legislative champions, supply of special care beds for pe rsons with dementia, and recent policy activity were related significantly with increased legislative activity concerning individuals with dementia. I mplications: Policy responses concerning persons with dementia increasingly have been created within state governments, and we identified variables as sociated with the passage of pertinent state laws. This research also contr ibuted to the advancement of comparative state policy research by contrasti ng the three theoretical models of policy formation.