The National Diabetes Action Program is a long term initiative of Diabetes Australia and is designed to:
- Increase community awareness of diabetes as a serious medical condition
- Increase community awareness of type 2 diabetes risk factors
- Increase community understanding that type 2 diabetes can be prevented through appropriate lifestyle changes
- Increase community access to quality information, support and services that have a type 2 diabetes prevention focus.
Diabetes Australia's National Don't Ignore Diabetes campaign was launched on July 10 2005.
The campaign has been designed to initially run for 3 years and is the first campaign of the National Diabetes Action Program.
The target audience for the DID campaign is Australian's aged 45 years and over who do not have diabetes.
Campaign Elements
In 2005 the major campaign elements were:
- A TV advertisement screened using Community Service Announcement airtime
- A poster featuring leg amputation, one potential complication of diabetes
- A type 2 diabetes risk test
- A campaign website
- Public relations activities.
Additional activities including radio press and billboards also occurred in some states.
2005 Campaign Evaluation
Evaluation of the 2005 campaign revealed:
- The Australian public still rates diabetes as much less serious and personally relevant than other health conditions. When respondents were asked to nominate serious diseases, diabetes ranked third behind cancer and heart disease
- During the campaign period 10 July to 31 August 2005, more than 596 people called Diabetes Australia’s information line
1300 136 588
- During July 2005 there were 83 calls to the multilingual helpline, compared to 19 during July 2004.
- During the first 3 months of the campaign there were 6,869 visits to the Don’t Ignore Diabetes website
- Between the 10th of July and the 6th of September 2005:
- The Don’t Ignore Diabetes TV advertisement was aired 192 times as a community service announcement
- Over 50 TV news items or programs referred to the campaign
- Over 50 radio interviews occurred about the campaign
- Over 270 articles about the campaign were printed in Australian newspapers and magazines
- Over 10,000 campaign information and resource kits were distributed to health professionals across Australia.
2006 Campaign
The Don’t Ignore Diabetes campaign will continue as Diabetes Australia’s national campaign during 2006.
Campaign activity will be given extra focus for National Diabetes Week (July 9 – 15 2006). Activities will include:
- Dissemination of free resource kits containing posters, fact sheets and risk tests.
- Airing of the Don’t Ignore Diabetes TV advertisement
- Interviews and articles in national media including newspapers, radio and TV.
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