International Dementia Conference 2020

In 2020, HammondCare’s International Dementia Conference went virtual

Launched on World Alzheimer’s Day September 21, over 6,000 delegates from across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK, Holland and many more countries joined the two-day live-streamed event.

The conference offered a wealth of research knowledge and understanding of current issues in practice from expert international and national speakers in the aged and dementia care sector.

Post the live event, delegates were able to catch up on what they had missed and view new on-demand presentations and e-posters for the month of October, giving the opportunity to watch and learn at their convenience.

Powerful stories from people living with dementia, including Sean Kelly who launched his book “Sean’s Story” about his journey with younger-onset frontotemporal dementia, and carers of people living with dementia such as Tully Smyth and Mary-Jane Grant were a highlight of the conference.

Keynote presentations on topics ranging from “Dementia Doesn’t Exist” with Prof Craig Ritchie, interactive panels on the importance of good design in dementia care from David Hughes, Dr Emi Kiyota, Prof Richard Fleming and Monique Wjinties and the realities of palliative care for people with dementia especially during a pandemic with Dr Emma Hodges, Prof Rod MacLeod and Prof Melanie Lovell were just some of the presentations that challenged thinking.

Over 80 Australian and International presentations, both live and on-demand, addressed current topics of dementia design, palliative care, deafness and dementia, caring in a time of COIVID, robotics, the complexities of meeting the clinical and psychosocial needs of people with advanced dementia and much more.

“IDC2020 aimed to address issues of the era, bringing to fore the research, practice and innovation that should be shared and debated to inspire our future,” said Dementia Centre Director Professor Colm Cunningham.

Free resources launched at the conference included, Deafness and Dementia Booklets that support families and staff care for people with dementia who are also Deaf, and an audiobook version of Agnes Houston’s popular publication Talking Sense. Visit all our free resources on our website.

The International Dementia Conference is a highly respected biannual conference that has informed and driven the discussion on dementia and what it means to deliver quality care for people living with dementia for more than two decades.

A big thank you to all of our 20 sponsors and in particular Principal Sponsors, Total Construction and the Australian Department of Health. We are grateful that they were agile enough to adapt to the online platform, offering attendees interactive resources and advice.