GP Pulse March 2013 Issue 21 - The Royal New Zealand College of ...

FeaturesDementia campaign ramps upLook out for Alzheimers New Zealand advertising this monthIn the September 2012 GP Pulse, Alzheimers New Zealand told us about their new campaign to raise awareness ofdementia, which started with the launch of the informative ‘We Can Help’ website and a TV commercial.The sector-wide campaignwas developed to deliver onStrategic Goal 2 from theNational Dementia Strategy2010–2015: to build publicawareness about dementiaand the services and supportavailable to people affectedby dementia, and to helpde-stigmatise dementia.Phase 2 of the campaignincludes a mix of televisioncommercials, magazineadvertising and editorialcontent with facts aboutdementia and the personalexperience of dementia.TV advertising will initiallyrun on Prime TV, andadvertising will run in theAustralian Women’s Weekly,Next magazine and Northand South.‘The campaign, managedby Alzheimers New Zealand, aimsto reduce the stigma sometimesassociated with dementia and toencourage people to see a doctor ifthey or someone they know is showingsigns of the condition,’ said HealthMinister Tony Ryall.‘Finding out you have dementia isdifficult; however, the sooner youknow the sooner you and your familycan benefit from the help available.It also ensures you have access toappropriate medicines to try and slowdown the advance of the condition.‘The one-off funding has also beenused to help clinicians make earlierdiagnoses and support people affectedby dementia, such as the developmentof online training tools and a clinicalsupport forum.‘As the number of New Zealandersliving longer increases, the number ofpeople with dementia will also grow.Caring for more people with dementiawill be one of the major challenges inthe future.’A timely diagnosis will often mean aperson can keep living independentlyfor much longer. People typicallyIntroducing the NationalDementia CooperativeThe National DementiaCooperative (NDC) was establishedto ‘cooperate and collaboratewith like-minded people whoare passionate about advancingknowledge of approaches todementia care in New Zealand’.Anyone with an interest indementia can participate. Peoplealready involved come from awide range of occupations andbackgrounds. Members work inpartnership, sharing resources,information, skills, trials anderrors. Membership is free andinformal – just email marja.steur@waitematadhb.govt.nz orvisit ndc.hiirc.org.nz.live with the diagnosis of dementiafor many years, and a significantportion of this time can be at home.With a timely diagnosis, people withdementia, their family and carers canstart taking practical steps, such asarranging their legal and financialmatters, and getting the care andsupport they need.For more informationabout this article:www.wecanhelp.org.nzP14 : ISSUE 21 : March 2013