Parkinsons Awareness Week Launched at Parliament, 1 – 7 Nov 2009
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Parkinsons Awareness Week Launched at Parliament
Parkinsons Awareness Week from 1 to 7 November 2009 was marked by the launch of multilingual pamphlets at Parliament on 29 October.
Korero Mai Speak to me is the theme of this years Awareness Week. This initiative will see Parkinsons New Zealand, and their 20 divisions across the country, focus on reaching out to families affected by Parkinsons disease who may find English-only material a barrier to access to vital information.
A diagnosis of Parkinsons can be hard to comprehend and for people who speak little or no English it can be even more confusing, stressful and alienating, says the National Director of Parkinsons New Zealand, Deirdre OSullivan.
In addition to the English and Te Reo M?ori versions, An Introduction to Parkinsons, which describes Parkinsons disease symptoms, treatments and related services, will be available in Arabic, Hindi, Korean, Samoan, Spanish, Tongan, traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese.
According to the 2006 census, 2.2 percent of New Zealands population, or 88,000 people, cannot maintain an everyday conversation in English, and over 671,000 people in New Zealand speak two or more languages.
The launch was hosted by Associate Minister of Health, Hon. Peter Dunne, and was attended by Ministers, cultural representatives, community leaders, health providers and people with Parkinson’s and their families.
Parkinsons New Zealand is proud to work towards being more accessible to all New Zealanders affected by Parkinsons, as Parkinsons does not discriminate it can affect anyone of any age and ethnicity.
For more information about Parkinsons Awareness Week contact:
Nicole Skews
Communications Manager
0800 473 4636
Afterhours:
Deirdre OSullivan
National Director
027 556 5760
Notes for Editors
- One in every 500 New Zealanders has Parkinsons around 9,000 people.
- Parkinsons is a progressive neurological condition that occurs when insufficient quantities of the chemical dopamine are produced by the brain
- People with Parkinsons tend not to refer to themselves as sufferers, opting for a more positive people affected by Parkinsons.
- The main motor symptoms of Parkinsons are:
o Tremor (shaking)
o Stiffness and rigidity
o Slowness of movement (bradykinesia)
- Other symptoms can include changes in mood and anxiety, poor balance and altered speech
- A large number of people with Parkinsons are aged over 65, however the average age of diagnosis is 59, and many New Zealanders are diagnosed with early-onset Parkinsons in their thirties and forties.
- Parkinsons New Zealand is a national not-for-profit with 20 divisions throughout the country and 35 Field Officers who work with people with Parkinsons as part of multi-disciplinary team
The main motor symptoms are collectively called parkinsonism, or a “parkinsonian syndrome”. Parkinson’s disease is often defined as a parkinsonian syndrome that is idiopathic (having no known cause), although some atypical cases have a genetic origin. Many risk and protective factors have been investigated: the clearest evidence is for an increased risk of PD in people exposed to certain pesticides and a reduced risk in tobacco smokers.*^.,
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