Exposure to a national multimedia Alzheimer's disease awareness campaign: Assessing stigmatic beliefs towards persons with the disease.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of being exposed to a multimedia campaign on stigmatic beliefs towards a person with Alzheimer's disease (AD). A cross-sectional posttest online survey was conducted immediately after the campaign among 510 Jewish participants aged 40 and above. Most the participants reported being exposed to the campaign. The campaign elicited significantly higher positive than negative emotions. Exposure to the campaign was not significantly associated with any of the stigmatic beliefs as a direct or moderating variable. Worry about developing AD was associated with increased stigmatic beliefs. More research is needed to better understand which types of media campaigns work best to increase awareness and reduce stigma associated with AD.