Dementia care is one of the critical issues facing the aged care industry. About 500,000 Australians currently live with the brain disorder condition, and this is tipped to rise to 1.1 million in a generation.
How to effectively provide quality care for people living with dementia was a key element of the royal commission into aged care, which found the complex care required was an ongoing challenge for the industry.
More than half the residents in aged care homes have a diagnosis of dementia. “We are deeply concerned that so many aged care providers do not seem to have the skills and capacity required to care adequately for people living with dementia,” the final report said.
To address these skills gaps, Dementia Australia, developed two applications to help with the learning and development of carers. Australian Health Journal spoke with Dr Tanya Petrovich, Dementia Australia’s Business Innovation Manager on how these platforms help those caring for people with dementia to understand, and improve their communication with people experiencing dementia. Tanya also spoke about last year Dementia Australia winning two Future of Ageing Awards in the Dementia Care and Business Technology categories.
Winner of Dementia Care category in the 2022 Future of Ageing Awards: Talk with Ted
The Talk With Ted program, created by Dementia Australia, simulates a typical chat including emotional and verbal responses between a carer and the resident.
“This type of experiential learning, that is both engaging and innovative, helps people to recall exactly what they’ve learned and makes them more likely to implement these new skills – which means better care for our loved ones living with dementia,” said Dementia Australia’s CEO Maree McCabe at the time of the launch.
The AI platform was created through a collaboration between Dementia Australia’s Centre for Dementia Learning and Deakin University’s Applied Artificial Intelligence Institute (A²I²), care workers, and was informed by real-life experiences of people living with dementia. Funding came from the Rosemary Norman Foundation.
Winner of Business Technology category in the 2022 Future of Ageing Awards: Ask Annie
There are more than 130,000 people working in-home support and community care across Australia. These people play a vital role for people living with dementia, their families, and carers.
‘Ask Annie’ is a virtual tool for community care workers providing dementia care in the home. Annie guides users through a range of scenarios, based on real-life experiences, to strengthen their dementia care skills.
The mobile app offers short, self-paced learning modules to help care workers refresh their skills and learn tips and tools to provide better care to people living with dementia. These are referred to as micro-learning training, that is accessible whenever a care worker wants to schedule a quick 10 or 15-minute lesson.
Ask Annie was developed by Dementia Australia with Deakin University’s Applied Artificial Intelligence Institute (A²I²), with the financial support of Gandel Philanthropy.
Produced with kind assistance from Inside Ageing and Future of Ageing Awards.
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Rapid trend shift in radiology technology and accessibility
Dr Mansoor Parker obtained his medical degree from the University of Tasmania. He then completed his specialist radiology training at Nepean Hospital, Sydney with subspecialty interests in Interventional Radiology and Pain Management, Musculoskeletal, Cardiac and Abdominal Imaging. Dr Parker is a qualified specialist since 2005 and is a member of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists and the exclusive Australasian Musculoskeletal Imaging Group (AMSIG) as well as the Interventional Radiology Society of Australasia (IRSA).
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Awareness campaigns and HCP Toolkits for thyroid health
In 2021, the Australian Thyroid Foundation released analysis to show, well over 1 million Australian are living with an undiagnosed thyroid disorder, including thyroid cancer, lower IQs, lifelong disability, and a causal or possible contributory factor – in the development of other neurological disorders such as ADHD and autism. Some of the challenges for diagnosis and treatment can be addressed by producing material for health care practitioners during patient presentations.
‘Recent statistics show well over 1 million Australians are living with an undiagnosed thyroid disorder, awareness and testing can prevent unwarranted outcomes for mothers and their babies’ says ATF CEO Beverley Garside OAM
The Australian Thyroid Foundation has lodged a Pre-Budget Submission for the Federal Budget 2024-25 to counter increasing misinformation on social media creating dietary deficiencies such as an increasing number of young women, who are planning pregnancy or already pregnant opting for plant based milks such almond, soy or oat milk coffee as an alternative to standard cow’s milk, which is a source of iodine and alternate milks do not include.
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Enriching experiences in nursing mentorship
Mentoring in nursing is crucial for the development of nurses and the advancement of the nursing profession. It provides a supportive environment for personal and professional growth, knowledge transfer, and leadership development.
Australian Health Journal met with two nurses both working in Queensland, one the mentor, the other, the mentee. Both get to appreciate the experiences mentorship gives them.
