Ad campaign educates on impact of Dementia
Alzheimer’s Australia Vic has released a public education campaign to present the facts about dementia, raise awareness of the condition and ensure people understand it is a serious brain disease.
The advertising campaign aims to educate Australians about the impact of living with dementia.
The campaign includes advertisements in The Age, Herald Sun and Leader newspapers and suburban billboards.
It is an extension of the recent television campaign during September’s Dementia Awareness.
The print advertisements aim to educate Australians about the impact that dementia has on the lives of the estimated 342,000 people living with dementia, their families and carers.
“It is important for the community to understand the facts and also for everyone to know that they are not alone, that there are support services available,” says Alzheimer’s Australia VIC chief executive officer Maree McCabe.
“Alzheimer’s Australia Vic is here to provide support and information about the services available and to educate the community, health and aged care sectors, about dementia.
“The greater the level of knowledge and awareness, the more likely that all people impacted, including their families and carers, can live well with dementia,” according to Ms McCabe.
“The public perception of dementia is greatly at odds with the reality of the disease. A greater understanding of this disease will help to effect change,” she says.
“Even a small change in levels of understanding in the community can make a big difference in the life of someone who is living with dementia.”
Our aim for the campaign is to make a difference to the lives of all people living with dementia, their families and carers,” Ms McCabe says.
As the second leading cause of death after heart disease, dementia is one of the Australia’s biggest, yet least understood conditions.
More than 70 percent of people admitt they know very little about the disease. A quarter of Australians believe dementia is just a normal part of ageing and almost half of the population do not realise that dementia is fatal.
Without a medical breakthrough, the number of people diagnosed with dementia is set to almost 900,000 people expected to be affected by 2050 – that’s around 1 in 50 Australians.
To view the full campaign visit http://bit.ly/vic2015awarenesscampaign
