Last week, The Canadian Diabetes Association launched its new website and “End Diabetes” campaign. Now called Diabetes Canada, the organization says it wants to focus on getting non-diabetics to join the cause. They intend to do this by ending the stigma associated with diabetes and shedding light on the mental and emotional toll diabetes has on those affected by the disease.
They have started doing this with their End Diabetes campaign. A snippet from their first video debuted during the Grammy’s:
Watch this video. Even if you’ve seen it before, watch it again.
What does it make you think? How do you feel when you watch it?
What people in the T1D community had to say about Diabetes Canada
While the video is touching for some T1s and parents of T1 children living with the disease every day, many people commented on how vague the video is and how it may even be confusing to people who are not familiar with T1D.
I asked people in the DOC to tell me what they thought about the video. The responses were quite negative overall.
It wasn’t REAL enough:
“It would be good if they actually showed the reality of finger pricking, insulin injections, hospital stays, parents by the kids beds testing…that would make it more real…this wasn’t really “real” feeling for me. My 12 year old son is Type 1 and this doesn’t really show what they deal with.” – Barb
“[T]hey need to show the pricking of fingers, the testing, installing a pump, taking a shot, having a low, having a high, how to manage when you are sick or when you live alone or when you are off to college.” – Brenda
“Although touching, it does not convey the life threatening impact of the auto immune disease of T1D… where is the mental toll, the parent calling their college student to make sure they are alive and made it through another night?” – Margie
All types of diabetes are lumped together:
The video doesn’t make sense:
But it wasn’t all bad
“There is SO much to be done to improve public perception of type 1 diabetes. It’s going to take a long and sustained effort to bring about change… Sometimes an emotional appeal can work wonders… Some folks have suggested that the ad didn’t do enough to explain what living with T1D is like or to explain the difference between types 1 and 2. But I think there’s so much misinformation out there that it’s going to take a lot of sustained effort to bring about change in public perception. Looks to me like DiabetesCanada is not going to leave it at 1 ad.” – Patricia
The Diabetes Canada page
The majority of the people I talked to had something negative to say about the video.
But not everyone feels that way. Diabetes Canada is getting plenty of positive reviews about their End Diabetes campaign. People are emotionally drawn to the video, find comfort in seeing that they are not alone, and are happy to see diabetes being put in the spotlight.
It would seem that they have more up their sleeve as they would like “to educate Canadians on the realities of diabetes in ways that can’t be done in a brief video”.
Diabetes Canada says the purpose of the video is “to start a conversation that many people would rather avoid” with the hope that this video will “open the door to that conversation”.
So… does the video “start a conversation”?
I realized that everyone was making assumptions of how people outside the DOC would perceive the ad. So, I sent the End Diabetes video to about 10 of my friends to watch. I didn’t tell them anything about the video, just asked them to watch it and tell me what they thought:
- It’s lacking context. The first mention of diabetes in the video comes at 1:34… over a minute and a half into the video they finally tell you what it’s about! Most of the people I showed thought that it was an ad for depression, abuse, or a suicide hotline until it actually mentioned diabetes. Was that the intention?? To make people feel bad about the dire situation these poor people are in and then point out that it’s actually about diabetes? Something most people think is “no big deal”?
- It isn’t engaging. Again, because of the lack of context, most of the people I sent it to said, “I would have turned it off if I came across it on my own.” They only watched it because I asked them to. Would it really hold their attention in another circumstance? – Coming across it on social media for instance?
- What’s the point? Every ad you see on TV (or anywhere else) has a “call to action”. The thing the advertisers want you, the viewer, to do. This ad has mixed signals when it comes to that. The whole ad is working toward getting empathy and at the end, they ask you to donate. “Here are some depressed people. Donate to our cause and they might not be so depressed anymore.” What if at the end they invited you to check out their website for more information instead? Are more people likely to click for information, or to donate to a cause they don’t understand?
However…
When I was told that it seemed like an ad about depression, some interesting conversations started. Statistically, people with diabetes are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, and eating disorders (namely diabulimia) than someone without diabetes. I realized that I wouldn’t normally discuss these particular issues with my non-d friends.
People started asking me questions. We talked about how raising a child with diabetes is like having a newborn… all the time. We talked about how many shots and finger pokes he gets. And there were questions about treatment vs finding a cure.
There are other pros and cons to this video. Many many people have expressed their thoughts to Diabetes Canada. The bottom line is this: Whether you liked the video or not, let your voice be heard. Tell Diabetes Canada what you think. If you don’t like the video, be constructive and tell them what you WOULD like to see.
Why we need the Diabetes Canada change
The word diabetes has a stigma attached to it. No matter which type you have, people believe certain things about diabetes. They usually believe you got it because of bad decisions and may even think you *deserve* diabetes.
They think that people with diabetes are fat and lazy, that they eat poorly and that if they’d only exercise, they’d reverse or cure their diabetes.
Even some of you folks with type 1 diabetes are sitting there going, “that’s type 2 diabetes. People with type 2 got it because of their lifestyle and they need to fix it themselves.”
And while I almost exclusively write about type 1 diabetes, I’ll be the first to correct that statement. Type 2 is strongly connected to genetics. Poor diet and lack of exercise increase your chances of getting type 2, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you will. Just as eating healthy and exercising regularly doesn’t shield you from the potential diagnosis.
The fact is, for me, even if diet and exercise were the only factors, it’s not ok to condemn someone. If you and I eat McDonald’s every day, and one of us ends up with type 2 diabetes, is it really because one of us deserved it and the other didn’t?
That’s disease shaming
And it needs to stop. We need to get on the same page. We need to learn from other communities that were successful in taking their disease out of the shadows and into the light.
Chris Ruden discusses what we can learn from the cancer and AIDS communities on his blog. Take a read, and let it sink in.
Should we really be fighting about T1 vs T2, low carb diets, or whether or not lancets need to be changed?
What are we saying to the public when we fight amongst ourselves?
Watch the video again
Go ahead, scroll up and watch it again, I’ll wait.
Did it make you feel anything different? Maybe it’s just me, but the more I watch it and discuss it, the more I see opportunities for conversation.
Was the video perfect? No, but it was a start.
Whether you like it or not, let Diabetes Canada know. Tell them what you like about it, why you don’t like it, and what you’d like to see more of in the future.
It could just be me, in my sleep deprived state, after listening to this song a dozen times, but I’ve found myself humming it now and again. It grows on you. At least it’s better than the Paw Patrol theme song that’s usually rattling around in my head!
Let me know what you thought of the video and website in the comments below!
As always, Happy Carb Counting!
~ Leah
Go forward Diabetes Canada and take the message of Diabetes to everyone. I live in the UK and have had type 1 Diabetes for 55 years. In those years I have worked, club cycled, played golf, played football and chaired a residents group helping children and adults in there leisure time. Their were times that my Diabetes got in the way of my every day living, but I pulled myself together and thought positively. I am now in my 80th year and although unable now to do the things that I used to I still put myself forward to try and help in a positive way the community that I live in.
Help others and you will feel fulfilled in yourself. Diabetes is hard to begin with, but when the initial stage is over stand up, look at yourself and go about the world the way that you wanted to, you will soon see that their is a rainbow that is wanting you to be as bright and as colourful as it is.
My thoughts are with you all. God Bless You.
Bill