Low levels of public understanding can contribute to the fear, stigma and social exclusion associated with living with dementia. Dementia friendly communities aim to address this by empowering people with dementia and increasing their social inclusion. As a part of a Community Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) process, a multicomponent dementia friendly community intervention supported: research; the establishment of a Dementia Advisory Group and Alliance; an awareness campaign and education in community organisations. Educational events were co-designed and co-facilitated by people with dementia and their care partners. To assess project reach and changes in attitudes of community members, two cross sectional surveys were conducted with adults (aged over 18 years) using validated scales. Independent samples t-tests compared responses to the surveys prior to the commencement of the project (2014) and two years later (2016). In 2016, respondents showed increased agreement with the statements: 'People with dementia participate in a wide variety of activities and interests,' and, 'It is easy to find out about dementia friendly services or organisations in Kiama'. Respondents who attended an educational event reported less negative views about how they themselves would feel if they were diagnosed with dementia compared with respondents who did not attend an event. CBPAR appears useful to support the involvement of people with dementia and the engagement of the community to improve awareness of dementia services. The direct involvement of people living with dementia as spokespeople and educators was an effective way to improve positive attitudes and reduce the negative stereotypes associated with living with dementia. Further research is needed to compare different approaches to the creation of dementia friendly communities in different locations, and to establish the extent to which local interventions are useful to complement efforts to raise awareness of dementia at a national level.

The results of this study suggest that the decisions made by the ASB in relation to complaints against alcohol advertisements are not in harmony with the judgement of independent experts, and that the ASB may not be performing an adequate job of representing community standards or protecting the community from offensive or inappropriate advertisements. Further, it appears that the revisions to the ABAC code, and associated processes, have not reduced the problems associated with alcohol advertising in Australia.

Brand development and brand management is complex in the pharmaceutical sector due to the specific nature of pharmaceutical products and their life-cycles, as well as the regulation of promotional activity. The building of strong brands is becoming increasingly important for the industry, and consideration is being given to developing more expressive or emotional values of brands over traditional functional values and attributes. In Australia, brand-building activity for prescription pharmaceuticals primarily targets the medical profession in an effort to achieve brand recognition, brand preference and brand loyalty and, in turn, increase prescriptions. Despite direct-to-consumer-advertising of prescription pharmaceuticals not being allowed in Australia, there have been cases of unnamed product advertisements and disease awareness campaigns that serve to increase consumer awareness of brands within a category. This paper provides a review of issues influencing brand building in the pharmaceutical sector as well as recent examples of brand-building activities that target Australian consumers.

BackgroundResearch highlights the need for carers of people with dementia to acquire relevant and timely information to assist them to access appropriate respite services. Unfortunately, negative experiences of information-seeking can create additional stress for carers and contribute to delays in up-take, or not using respite services at all.MethodsCross-sectional survey data was collected from a convenience sample of n = 84 carers of older people with dementia living in the Illawarra-Shoalhaven region of NSW, Australia. We assessed knowledge, attitudes, information seeking behaviours, and unmet need for respite services in 2016, following national aged care reforms.ResultsOver the previous 12 months, 86% of carers sought respite service information. The majority (73%) of all carers reported an unmet need for respite services, and were relying on personal networks to provide support for respite information. Few utilised the new government gateway ‘My Aged Care’ phone line (11%) or website (25%). However, 35% used a pre-existing helpline to access short term or emergency respite. We found a preference for interpersonal information sources, including local doctor (65%), professionally and volunteer led carer support groups (49%), and family and friends (46%). Those using four or more information sources showed higher capacity to name local respite services. Respite service information seekers were more likely to be caring for someone with behavioural problems, to have received assistance to access services, and to have used respite services in the past 3 to 6 months.ConclusionsNew reforms in the Australian aged care sector have not adequately responded to the needs of carers of people with dementia for respite service information and support. Wider, community-based messaging promoting positive service options and the provision of active personal support is required to address the unmet need for respite in carers of people with dementia.

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