Speaking with SBS Hindi, Dr Brijnath said, “ My grandmother suffered with Dementia and I know how stressful and complex it becomes for the families. The reality is that there is limited awareness about dementia and that is resulting in delayed diagnosis, poorer prognosis, and a higher burden of care on families and health systems,”
An innovative multi-media program to raise awareness about dementia in people from multicultural communities, and how to access help has been launched on 22nd February in Melbourne by Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Ken Wyatt AM.
Coordinated by the National Ageing Research Institute (NARI), Moving Pictures is made up of fifteen short films co-produced with people from Tamil, Hindi, Cantonese, Mandarin and Arabic communities – Australia’s top five fastest growing cultural and linguistic groups.
Using film making to inform and educate these communities about dementia, and the importance of early diagnosis of dementia for better treatment and quality of life was deliberate, according to Dr Brijnath.
“Film-making has a long history of portraying the cultural complexities of everyday life, and lends itself well to the communities Moving Pictures is trying to reach,” Dr Brijnath added.
Moving Pictures has been funded through the Federal Government’s Dementia and Aged Care Services research and innovation grants.
Moving Pictures was made in conjunction with Curtin University and guided by Dementia Australia, Chung Wah Association, Australian Nursing Home Foundation, Federation of the Indian Association of Victoria, the South Western Sydney Local Health District and the Australian Arab Association.
