Consumer awareness campaign proven effective

Evaluation results have proved that You only die once, Australia’s first Advance Care Planning consumer awareness campaign was highly successful.

The primary purpose of this campaign, which was delivered in WA from August to October 2019, was to address the lack of awareness on Advance Care Planning in the WA community. The WA Parliament Joint Select Committee on End of Life Choices identified that only 7% of the WA community had completed any form of Advance Care Plan to address their end of life wishes.

A comparison of pre and post campaign survey results indicated a 60% increase in awareness of Advance Care Planning. In addition, over 6,000 people visited the dedicated campaign website for more information over the period of the campaign.

Palliative Care WA CEO Lana Glogowski said “Consumer awareness campaigns have a lot to compete with just to get our attention let alone prompt us to find out more.  These excellent evaluation results show this campaign managed to do just that, proving that not only was the concept effective but also that there is an appetite for the topic.”

“This campaign has created a platform from which we can continue to increase awareness of Advance Care Planning so more Western Australians can get the end of life experience they desire.”

The main premise of You only die once was to encourage people to have the conversation about end of life wishes early, because once someone’s gone, it’s too late.  The campaign included television and radio advertising, a dedicated microsite www.youonlydieonce.com.au, sponsored articles and a social media campaign.

Developed and managed by Palliative Care WA the campaign was possible due to the generous support of Lotterywest, WA Health and member organisations from the CEO Roundtable on Palliative Care.

You can download the full evaluation report here.