During World Alzheimer’s Month, the Institute for Alzheimer’s Disease and Neuroscience (IAN) in North Macedonia, translated Alzheimer’s Disease International’s social media graphics and statistics and shared them using the hashtags #AskAboutDementia and #AskAboutAlzheimers. To engage the public, the IAN created a Google Form that allowed people to submit their questions about dementia anonymously. In October, a panel of professionals, alongside a family caregiver, answered these questions, and the responses will be shared on social media. The campaign messaging particularly emphasised air pollution as a risk factor, given the high levels of pollution in North Macedonia. Additionally, the IAN developed content featuring facts about dementia to raise awareness, address stigma, and encourage those with lived experience to share their stories. Their local campaign sought anonymous contributions from individuals living with dementia, which they hope to compile into an open letter to the Ministry of Health, highlighting unmet needs.
The social media campaign generated significant engagement, resulting in over 30 responses to the anonymous survey, where individuals generously shared their experiences. The IAN also participated in two television programmes and gave two interviews for the national portal Republika.mk, where they discussed dementia more broadly, emphasised the key needs of people living with dementia in North Macedonia, and presented their campaigns. They addressed the high prevalence of dementia risk factors specific to North Macedonia, the lack of post-diagnostic support, information, and respite services for individuals with dementia and their caregivers, as well as the high levels of stress and burnout among caregivers. They also underscored the importance of system-level solutions, particularly the need for accessible multidisciplinary support, backed by the development of a National Dementia Strategy. To illustrate what is possible, they highlighted best practice examples from research projects and programmes developed by the IAN in recent years.
