The well-known geriatrician and dementia advocate is the Schlegel Chair in Aging and Dementia Innovation at the Schlegel-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging (RIA) in Ontario and will be on the plenary stage at the International Dementia Conference 2026 in Sydney.
Based in Rochester, New York, Allen’s spent much of his life writing and speaking about transformational models of care, particularly for those with changing cognitive abilities.
Author of two highly regarded books – Dementia Beyond Drugs: Changing the Culture of Care and Dementia Beyond Disease: Enhancing Well-Being – with a third on the way, Allen wants to see a change in how we care for people living with dementia, a change that puts the focus on the person at the heart of the care, with all their history, desires, relationships and needs.
‘That’s what's missing when we just care for people with the biomedical approach,’ Allen said.
‘But when we look at it through an experiential lens, we start seeing dementia differently. We have to shift the focus to a strength-based, proactive approach to enhancing well-being, instead of just mitigating distress.’
So, what’s stopping us?
Allen sees two big obstacles in the way of better person-centred care.
The first is the system.
‘It doesn't matter what the idea is, if you bring the idea to an institution, the institution will kill it every time,’ Allen said.
It doesn't matter what the idea is, if you bring the idea to an institution, the institution will kill it every time.
‘So, you've got to shift operations if you want something to stick. And that means changing daily policies, practises, staffing patterns, ways of communicating, ways of addressing conflict.
‘All those things must be addressed if you want to do things differently…and when you do that, that's where the real magic is.’
The second obstacle is, well, us.
‘It's still really hard to keep people from “othering” people with dementia, from seeing them as something different from themselves,’ he said.
‘And in my seminars, I always try to bring ourselves into it – What do you need? How would you feel in this situation? We tend to think people living with dementia need something different than the rest of us do. But they don't, you know.
‘I mean, how would you like it if you're eating dinner one night and we come into your house and we stick in a divider in your bedroom and move a stranger in, and then you're going to spend the rest of your life with that stranger? ‘
Overcoming the obstacles
Allen has taught seminars all over the world about how relationship-based care can improve well-being, but systemic challenges often stand in the way of implementation.
For example, not all staff can attend the seminars if they’re not rostered on for the session and, in fact, inconsistent rostering creates even more problems down the track.
‘If you don't know people well, you can't give them care that leads to well-being. You can't give them security if a stranger's coming in to undress them every week,’ he said.
If you don't know people well, you can't give them care that leads to well-being. You can't give them security if a stranger's coming in to undress them every week.
‘Relationships sound wonderful, but consistent staff assignment is something most organisations haven't gotten their head around, and that takes a lot of work.’
He points to an innovative approach undertaken at a residential aged care home in North Carolina by his RIA colleague Dr Jennifer Carson.
‘Jennifer changed my care conference approach into a series of daily stand-up huddles, five to 10 minutes for each shift, that fits within their schedule and their operations,’ he said.
‘You accomplish the same thing, but everybody from all three shifts weighs in, giving their perspective, and it's done within the confines of their normal workday. You're not asking people to take half an hour out of their busy day.’
The other obvious challenge is costs, but Allen points to Schlegel Villages, in Canada, who are only building private rooms at their new campuses, tiered as ‘regular’ and ‘deluxe’, with the regular priced the same as a double in their older sites.
‘They're not going to raise their cost – they're just going to do this because it's the right thing to do and keep the cost the same,’ he said.
Transforming care, together
Allen urges the whole sector to make the shift together, as individuals, and as organisations, emphasising that a shared vision of better care is crucial.
'If you cannot envision a different care system, you cannot change the way people care,’ he said.
‘It's one thing to get people to think differently, but in order to get them to act differently, you've got to change the system.'
Don’t miss out on hearing Dr Allen Power speak at #IDC2026, 4-5 June 2026 at the Hilton, Sydney. He’ll also be signing his bestselling books, Dementia Beyond Drugs: Changing the Culture of Care and Dementia Beyond Disease: Enhancing Well-Being, for delegates.
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