Navigating Awareness and Strategies to Support Dementia Advocacy on Social Media During World Alzheimer's Month: Infodemiology Study

Background: Understanding advocacy strategies is essential to improving dementia awareness, reducing stigma, supporting cognitive health promotion, and influencing policy to support people living with dementia. However, there is a dearth of evidence-based research on advocacy strategies used to support dementia awareness.

Objective: This study aimed to use posts from X (formerly known as Twitter) to understand dementia advocacy strategies during World Alzheimer's Awareness Month in September 2022.

Methods: Posts were scraped from X during World Alzheimer's Awareness Month from September 1, 2022, to September 30, 2022. After applying filters, 1981 relevant posts were analyzed using thematic analysis, and measures were taken to support trustworthiness and rigor.

Results: Our study revealed a variety of advocacy strategies, including sharing the voices of lived experience, targeting ethnic and cultural groups, myth-busting strategies, and political lobbying. Although a range of strategies were identified, further research is needed to examine advocacy strategies within different countries and political contexts. Furthermore, the impact of specific strategies on stigma reduction, cognitive health promotion, and policy change needs to be scientifically evaluated.

Conclusions: Our study offers valuable insight into strategies to bolster dementia advocacy and awareness campaigns to support people living with dementia. Findings from our research may provide critical insight for policymakers, organizations, and health professionals working to reduce dementia-related stigma and increase the uptake of risk-reduction activities to support the promotion of cognitive health.