https://facingdementiatogether.au/en/

•A low-budget, regional campaign reached 4 million people and improved dementia knowledge, attitudes and stigma
•It promoted help-seeking — most attendees sought more information and 42% of those with concerns saw a GP

Introduction:  People with dementia symptoms often delay seeking medical help

Aim: Evaluate the process and short-term impact of the ‘Face Dementia’ public campaign promoting timely help-seeking for dementia diagnosis

Design: Mixed-methods process evaluation guided by the RE-AIM framework (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance)
Setting: Western Sydney & Adelaide from Sept 2023 to Sept 2024
Languages: English and Chinese

Results

REACH
4 million via mass media
4,901 face-to-face:
17,975 unique website visitors
25,389 resources distributed
4,669 social-media engagements

EFFECTIVENESS
67.7% (1,814/2,680) attendees completed pre–post surveys
Significant gains in knowledge, beliefs about diagnosis & confidence; reduced stigma

ADOPTION
>50% motivated to seek information
Up to 25% motivated to seek medical and informal help
IMPLEMENTATION
Challenges to implementation were difficulty engaging community organizations to host events
MAINTENANCE

42% (24/57) had seen a GP at 2 months, high loss to follow-up

This low-budget, regional, multi-channel campaign:
Achieved broad reach.
Improved dementia knowledge and attitudes; reduced stigma
Facilitated both informal and medical help-seeking
Future analysis will assess impact on diagnosis rates.