Dementia can affect anyone in the community. In Australia, it is the single greatest cause of disability in older Australians (aged 65 years or older) and the third leading cause of disability burden overall.
While there is no cure for dementia, receiving a timely diagnosis and early intervention is important for the best outcomes and quality of life for the person living with dementia and their families.
However, for many in the community, including the Greek, diagnosis is often delayed. While there are many reasons for this, misconceptions and low levels of awareness about dementia and dementia services, different understandings of ageing and cognitive decline and language problems are significant barriers to accessing timely services in the Greek community.
To overcome these barriers and to promote timely diagnosis and early intervention, user-friendly, relevant, and culturally appropriate interventions are urgently needed to support members of the community grappling with dementia.
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The Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, has funded the Moving Pictures study conducted at the National Ageing Research Institute (VIC) in collaboration with Curtin University (WA), which aims to increase dementia awareness among Australia’s largest culturally and linguistically diverse communities, including the Greek community.
Working with Greek carers and people living with dementia and key service providers, the Moving Pictures team have developed three short films covering detection and diagnosis, finding care and support and the carer journey.
The films reflect real-world stories and voices of Greek-Australian carers and service providers. it is hoped that these resources will raise awareness of dementia and dementia care and empower members of the Greek community to seek care, obtain a diagnosis early and find the services that can provide support for the person living with dementia and their carers/ families.
Once completed, the films will be freely available on the www.movingpictures.org.au website. However, before the films are released the team is seeking the input from the Greek community to ensure that the films are relevant and meet the needs of the community. The evaluation should take no more than 30 minutes.
To participate participants must be from a Greek-speaking background and also be over the age of 18. Participants can also choose to be part of a draw to win one of four $50 gift cards.
For the Greek version of the survey click here and for the English version click here.
For further information contact the Moving Pictures team movingpictures@nari.edu.au or visit www.movingpictures.org.au