Introduction

With an election ahead of us this year, it is an important time to make sure that leaders, policy makers and the community are thinking about the issues affecting people with dementia, their care partners, and families.

Consumer stories can, and do make a difference in helping decision-makers understand what it is really like to live with, or to support someone living with dementia.  Consumers are the only ones who have the total picture of what is happening across health care, aged care and disability care, and in their local communities.

Consumers are aware of the issues that people with dementia face and importantly, consumers are increasingly involved in the solutions.

Alzheimer’s Australia believes it is important to bring consumer issues to the national policy agenda.  It is also vital to work together to come up with solutions.  We are keen to hear about your experiences of the things that are working well for you that could be shared to help improve outcomes for people across the country.

Your response will inform Alzheimer’s Australia’s ongoing work to influence national policy and raise awareness about change that needs to happen.  This may include Alzheimer’s Australia’s national policy submissions and work with Government, media interviews, opinion pieces, community awareness campaigns and national forums.

In the first instance, your response will inform Alzheimer’s Australia’s national Consumer Summit which will be held in March in Canberra.  The Consumer Summit will bring together consumer representatives from around the Alzheimer’s Australia network with the aim of bringing consumer solutions to help shape the national policy agenda.  The Consumer Summit also provides an opportunity for consumers to co-design a Consumer Involvement Strategy.  This includes making the most of the opportunity presented by the new NHMRC National Institute of Dementia Research to determine ways to support and encourage consumer involvement in dementia research.

Finally, consumers are critical partners in change and we would like to hear from you about how you might like to share issues and views or contribute to awareness raising, policy development, advocacy and research.

There are seven questions.  We welcome responses from people with dementia and carers.  If you are completing this survey with your carer/support person, feel free to provide a joint response, or separate responses. All responses to the survey will be treated anonymously.

Question Title

* 1. I am responding to this survey as: 

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