Abstract

Dementia is an increasingly prevalent health concern. To combat the global increase in people living with dementia, jurisdictions have begun implementing dementia health policies to better tackle the health concern. In Quebec, the local provincial government has implemented the Quebec Alzheimer Plan (2009), which has been sewn into the fabric of the Quebec healthcare system. Currently, the plan is in its third stage of implementation. To understand the QAP’s problematization of and solution for dementia, this analysis employs Critical Frame Analysis (CFA) to assess the QAP policy text. This work explores how the policy has been framed, highlighting that elements of both the biomedical and social model of disability play roles in the framing of the policy, with the biomedical paradigm being the most dominant framing device in the text. The dominance of the biomedical paradigm hints at the power dynamic between medical professionals and patients and caregivers, suggesting that the former retain more authority and voice, resulting in the latter having diminished voice and agency.