Public Awareness Campaign Update

This full-page ad appears in the July issues of Ladies' Home Journal and Better Homes and Gardens, on newsstands by mid June.

CFS Print Ads Appear in National Magazines

As part of the CFS Public Awareness Campaign, a full-page color print ad about chronic fatigue syndrome appears in the July issues of Ladies’ Home Journal and Better Homes and Gardens, which are on the newsstands this week. These two magazines have a combined readership of more than 20 million, giving us the opportunity to elevate CFS in the minds of millions of Americans.

The ad depicts the impact of CFS and educates people about the symptoms of the illness. It carries both the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services logos, clearly signaling that CFS is a public health concern. The ad points people to the CDC website where new content about symptoms, diagnosis and treatment are now available. The website is still under construction, and additional content will be added later this summer. Go to www.cdc.gov/cfs to view the content that has been posted so far.

The print ad also introduces the campaign slogan, “Get informed. Get diagnosed. Get help.” This call to action will appear on all the public awareness materials distributed as part of the CFS public awareness campaign, including TV and radio PSAs and the traveling photo exhibit.

Look for the ad in Ladies' Home Journal and Better Homes and Gardens  soon on newsstands nationwide.

Press Event Postponed

The press event scheduled for June 7 at the National Press Club has been postponed. Top officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who are responsible for the CFS public awareness campaign have decided to wait to announce new research findings about the prevalence of CFS until after the research has been published in a peer-reviewed journal. While this was an unexpected and last-minute decision, it will allow us to have a major research announcement at a press conference later in the summer that will augment media and public interest in CFS and the campaign.

The press event will be rescheduled to coincide with publication of the new research. Stay tuned to CFIDSLink, and we’ll let you know the new date so you can view portions of the press conference online within hours of the event! We’ll also let you know where and when you can see “The Faces of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,” the campaign’s wonderful traveling photo exhibit.

Spark CFS Awareness Website Opens Soon

We are putting the final touches on the CFIDS Association’s campaign microsite, and it will go live later in June. This new microsite, which is part of the Association’s main website (www.cfids.org) will provide easy-to-understand, current information on diagnosing and treating CFS. It will also include educational material for the general public, patients, caregivers and health care professionals.