Measure 2.1: Reduced stigma and improved attitudes among Australians towards people living with dementia
Despite the widespread impact of dementia, Australians generally have a poor understanding of dementia, and many believe that dementia is a normal part of ageing. Stigma refers to a negative reaction toward a particular group, such as people living with dementia. The more Australians understand about dementia, the more likely they are to challenge incorrect stereotypes and help people living with dementia to live in a supportive environment. It is important to measure dementia-related stigma among Australians, to understand whether attitudes toward people living dementia are improving.
Data are available from the Dementia Awareness Survey to track this measure.
Stigma against dementia
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Indicator
Average dementia stigma scores among Australians (using the Dementia Public Stigma Scale; DePSS).
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Baseline value
Average score of 51 out of 112 in 2023
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Latest value
Baseline value only
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Progress
To be provided in future updates
The Dementia Public Stigma Scale (DePSS) measures dementia-related public stigma, a negative reaction towards a stigmatised group from non-stigmatised others, amongst community-dwelling adults. A lower DePSS score means a lower level of dementia public stigma. The lowest score possible to record is 16.
The desired outcome is that dementia stigma decreases in Australia, meaning this indicator should decrease over time.
Change over time
Future updates of this report will track changes over time for this indicator.
In 2023, statistically significant lower levels of dementia-related stigma were reported among:
- women (compared with men)
- people born in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, or New Zealand (compared with people born elsewhere)
- people who spoke only English at home (compared with people who spoke a language other than English at home)
- non-heterosexual people (compared with heterosexual people)
- people who had a family member or friend with dementia (compared with those who did not)
- people who had worked with people living with dementia (compared with those who had not).
Further information can be found in the Dementia Awareness Survey.
These data come from the Dementia Awareness Survey (DAS).
The DAS was first run in 2023, surveying more than 5,400 Australian adults to understand general knowledge of dementia and dementia risk factors, and community attitudes towards dementia and people living with dementia in Australia.
Data are reported by population groups where data quality allows.
Comprehensive technical notes detailing survey methodology, questionnaire design, sampling, weighting and significance testing are available from the Dementia Awareness Survey technical notes.