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Elder Abuse Prevention Campaign – Some things never grow old

Elder Abuse Prevention Campaign – Some things never grow old

Summary

The Queensland Government’s Elder Abuse prevention campaign in 2023 and 2024 – Some things never grow old, aims to increase community awareness and understanding of elder abuse by helping target audiences to recognise and respond to elder abuse and find out more about the different types of elder abuse (including psychological/emotional, financial, physical, social and sexual abuse and neglect).
The campaigns target third-party bystanders to elder abuse, including family members whose parents or other relatives may be experiencing elder abuse, and older people who may be experiencing elder abuse, to ensure they know where to go for advice and support.
The campaigns aim to motivate people to take action to prevent Elder Abuse by calling the Elder Abuse Helpline, which provides information, advice and referrals to specialist services and support. The campaign website provides information and links to support.
The campaign takes a strength-based approach and aligns with the WHO age-friendly domain of respect and social inclusion. This age-friendly practice directly impacts seniors and highlights the importance of respect, dignity and safety. The 2024 campaign was a re-run of the 2023 campaign.

Website: https://www.families.qld.gov.au/campaign/stop-elder-abuse

Key facts

Main target group: Vulnerable older people (e.g. at risk or victims of abuse, living alone, poor etc.)

Other target group(s): The campaign creatives also include print and digital assets featuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The advertising channels also targeted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander audiences.

Sector(s): Health, Long-term care, Other

Desired outcome for older people:
Meet their basic needs

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:
  • Ageism
  • Elder abuse

Contact details

Name: Kerry Stephen

Email address: Kerry.Stephen@dcssds.qld.gov.au

Age-friendly practice in detail (click to expand):

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Other

Other project lead: Queensland Government

Others involved in the project:
  • Local authorities
  • Private sector

How collaboration worked: Consultation was undertaken with service providers to inform campaign development. The Queensland Government worked with a media company to develop the campaign including digital and specialist media advertising. Partnerships with Translink and Brisbane City Council provided opportunities for the campaign to be shown on train screens and screens in the city centre (shopping mall and main square) reaching a wider audience.

Older people’s involvement: Older people were involved in the age-friendly practice at multiple or all stages

Details on older people’s involvement: The needs of older people were identified through the number and types of calls being received by the Elder Abuse Prevention Unit. Engagement of all audiences, which includes older people, was evaluated through website metrics including page views. Older people participated in pre and post-campaign market research. Research data included the evaluation of responses to the impact of the campaign, attitudinal change and knowledge of sources of help.

Moving forward

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: Yes

Was the impact positive or negative:
Positive

Please share with us what you found in detail:
The effectiveness of the campaign was measured by evaluating; the number and types of helpline calls and referrals, the campaign impact, and the advertising reach. The evaluation showed the number of calls to the Elder Abuse Helpline increased during the campaign. After seeing the campaign materials people reported having a notably higher level of confidence in their ability to identify physical abuse and neglect, and a greater awareness of the support services available. Over half of the people who saw the campaign took some form of action as a result. Most people agreed that addressing elder abuse is everyone’s responsibility.

Feedback:
The campaign was well received and resonated with all target audiences.

Looking back

Reflections:
The campaign was effectively advertised by utilising various channels to reach the widest possible audience. This included doctors waiting rooms, radio stations, online videos, Facebook and LinkedIn. The Queensland Government worked closely with the Elder Abuse Prevention Unit to ensure they were aware of the timing of the campaign and that they were adequately staffed to deal with an increase in the number of callers. A campaign re-run in 2024 allowed for a more streamlined process as approvals had previously been provided and content was familiar/known.

Challenges:
To address geographical challenges dues to the size of Queensland and to ensure the campaign reached the widest audience the campaign was advertised on community and Indigenous radio to reach regional and remote markets and minority groups. The campaign was also tailored to appeal to different audiences including culturally and linguistically diverse and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander audiences.