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Scleroderma Awareness Month 2020
Scleroderma Awareness Month June 2020
Our aim for the month - #Knowscleroderma
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As with previous years, we continued our key messages and objectives: to make more people aware of the signs and symptoms of Scleroderma, and to promote better knowledge and understanding of how it impacts your lives. However, this year we also had the message of “Scleroderma in the time of Coronavirus” to highlight the additional impact of COVID-19 on our community.
World Scleroderma Day – 29 June 2020
This is not just here in the UK; Scleroderma associations and charities all over the world have been working to promote awareness to mark World Scleroderma Day on 29 June. Each organisation has their own campaigns and stories, however the overarching message is that “our smile is vulnerable.” This year also saw a new message relating to coronavirus: “protect yourselves to protect us”. In partnership with FESCA (Federation of European Scleroderma Associations), we produced an animation highlighting how the Scleroderma community is more vulnerable and urging people to “protect yourselves to protect us”. Our social media adverts proved popular and the video was viewed more than 14,000 times in one week. You can watch this animation and FESCA’s video on our YouTube channel: WeAreSRUK, or on our website:
sruk.co.uk Thank you to everyone that was willing to share their stories about the impact of COVID-19: from how hand sanitiser and frequent handwashing affect your skin to the effects of shielding on your lives, your mental health and your families; and how cancelled treatments and appointments have affected your symptoms. Coverage
We secured National TV coverage of our campaign! Our CEO, Sue Farrington, was featured on BBC News24 along with Sara McAreavey, to discuss the impact of the changes in the shielding guidance for people with Scleroderma. Sara also appeared later that day on BBC Radio Four – The World Tonight show. The Sunday Post in Scotland published a full feature on Cara and Karen Hockley’s story. We also had several medical-related online features and mentions, including the British Association of Dermatologists and Bupa Online who featured our blog authored by Professor Chris Denton. On social media we engaged with a wide variety of people across all age groups, with so many sharing their stories alongside ours.
