| Summary: | This paper presents Understanding Dementia, a public health campaign
promoting dementia awareness, initiated by four final year students from the Wee
Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological
University. The campaign aimed to educate adults aged 25 to 50 years old on the
warning signs of dementia and the importance and benefits of early diagnosis.
The paper reviews primary and secondary research that contributed to the
formulation of the campaign’s objectives and strategies.
Our primary research showed that the target audience was not well informed
of the symptoms of dementia, and that they generally held the misconception that
these symptoms were part of normal ageing. Qualitative interviews also showed that
only a small percentage of dementia cases were diagnosed in the early stage.
To mitigate these problems, storytelling, public education and the use of
social media were the key strategies developed to convey the campaign messages
effectively.
The team achieved success in meeting its informational and behavioural
objectives. Post-campaign evaluation showed that the target audience was more
informed about the symptoms of dementia and the benefits of early diagnosis. They
would also take appropriate action should they suspect an elderly person of having
dementia.
With Singaporeans being more informed about the symptoms of dementia,
this campaign helped lay the foundation for the creation of a dementia-friendly
Singapore. In the long run, the campaign’s promotion of early diagnosis will help
improve the quality of life of both persons with dementia and their caregivers.
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