The message includes a fun animation and song about the importance of testing for kidney disease, calling on people in Australia to ask their GP for a urine test as part of a kidney health check.
Peet, who is the start of the animated video, sings about his regret of not having done a piss test earlier, and how he’s ended up hooked up to a dialysis machine to stay alive.
A staggering 77 percent of people at risk of kidney disease have not had a kidney piss test in the last 24 months
Kidney Health Australia CEO Chris Forbes
Kidney Health Australia says the aim is to spread the word through humour rather than through fear, connecting a common phrase with the behaviour change needed to diagnose kidney disease earlier.
“We needed something loud enough to cut through, because the message is not getting across, so we’re using humour to cut through the stigma, and get people finally talking about kidney disease," said the head of Kidney Health Australia Chris Forbes said.
“A staggering 77 percent of people at risk of kidney disease have not had a kidney piss test in the last 24 months,” he said.
“We need Australians at risk to literally take the piss, so we developed a campaign to get the message across."
Melbourne launch
August 13 will see the official lauch of The Great Australian Piss Take in Melbourne’s CBD.
It's designed to encourage people to come and get an on-the-spot urine risk assessment supported by Flinders University’s International Centre for Point-of-Care Testing.
“It’s free, it’ s quick, and there is no excuse not to take the piss,” Chris said.
Kidney disease is common, serious and largely invisible.
More than 2.5 million people in Australia are living with markers of kidney disease and don’ t know it.
We needed something loud enough to cut through, because the message is not getting across, so we’re using humour to cut through the stigma, and get people finally talking about kidney disease
Chris Forbes
A kidney health check consists of three simple checks, a blood test, a blood pressure check and a urine test (uACR) – yet the urine test is the one most commonly overlooked.
Community pharmacies support kidney health through early detection, medication management and ongoing care close to home.
Anyone in Australia with symptoms of a heart attack, stroke or any potentially life‑threatening condition should dial 000 or go straight to hospital. In New Zealand, people should dial 111 or go straight to hospital.
