Case 13: Preventing Diabetes-Related Amputations

Abstract

This case is an example of how marketing has helped to spread preventative health messages to at-risk communities and helped people with diabetes live a longer and higher quality of life. Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease that is affecting a growing number of people every day, due to increased obesity rates and our increasingly unhealthy lifestyles. There are also certain genetic factors, which means certain ethnicities are more at risk than others. Aboriginal Australians are subject to an elevated rate of type 2 diabetes and also suffer the most from complications associated with the disease, particularly nerve damage and limb amputation.

The “Got Diabetes? Look After Your Feet” campaign was a bigger-picture, macromarketing strategy that helped to educate the Aboriginal target audience and prevent impairing amputations from occurring. Losing a limb can be a traumatic ordeal for anyone and seriously impacts on the patient’s quality of life – reducing mobility and increasing dependence on others. By highlighting the simple ways you can look after your feet to prevent the painful consequences, the campaign had a significant impact and was successfully distributed across Western Australia. The case study is a great example of marketing best practice and can be considered a success even if just one person living with diabetes changes their habits for the better or made an appointment with their podiatrist due to the work of Diabetes WA.

This chapter extends work submitted as part of a Master of Marketing degree program at the University of Western Australia

Case prepared by Jessica PRICE

Country case: AUSTRALIA