The public awareness of aphasia: An international survey

We surveyed 929 shoppers in Exeter (England), Louisiana (US A) and Sydney ( Australia) to determine what they knew of aphasia. Between 10% and 18% said they had heard of aphasia but only between 1.5% and 7.6% had even some bas ic knowledge of aphasia. We found that more females knew something about ap hasia than males and that older people were more likely to have heard of it , although those with some knowledge were significantly younger. Informants had heard of aphasia mainly through their work or the media and were mainl y professionals like teachers, nurses, therapists, managers and administrat ors, followed by a retired/student group. We found some differences in awar eness levels in the different locations we sampled. Results have implicatio ns for targeting awareness raising and campaigning.