ABSTRACT

A confluence of issues conspires to make dementia one of the most feared conditions, including stigma, difficulty in obtaining diagnosis, lack of timely diagnosis, and when - or if - diagnosis is made. Recent interviews for the COGNISANCE project revealed that clinicians (n=17) may try to ‘soften the blow’ by describing dementia as ‘memory loss’ or ‘cognitive issues’, feeling they have little by way of intervention or hope to offer their patients. People with dementia and family (n=25) told us that following diagnosis there was no clear pathway for support; it was like ‘stepping into a void’.

However, there is a growing body of evidence for interventions that may delay or reduce symptoms and approaches that enable people with dementia to move forward with a diagnosis and live full, meaningful lives. Forward with Dementia is a co-designed program which has collated information, curated links and developed resources on a tailored website. It has also used promotional and educational strategies to improve the way a diagnosis is communicated, and immediate post-diagnostic support is provided. This presentation will give a tour of the website, modelling a co-ordinated approach to keeping people engaged and enabled, not waiting to re-engage at a later stage.

PRESENTER BIO

Dr Meredith Gresham is an Occupational Therapist with 35 years of clinical and research experience focussing on improving the lives of people living with dementia and families across a range of residential, hospital and community care settings. She has interests in how modifying the built environment and assistive technology can improve function and independence of people living with dementia. She currently coordinates the 5-country COGNISANCE study that seeks to reframe the way in which a diagnosis of dementia is communicated, and to provide information and actions to support people with dementia and their families to live positively following diagnosis.

VIDEO ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

The dementia carer respite and education program is one of three measures funded by the Australian Government to improve the experiences of and increase the quality of outcomes for people with dementia using respite and their carers. Dementia Support Australia is leading the first phase of this program delivering 'staying at home' across Australia. We will also build the program model to enable other providers to deliver the program in their services in the future. Join us to learn more.

PRESENTER BIO

Tom Gauci is a Team Leader with Dementia Support Australia. Tom has a clinical background in speech pathology with over 9 years’ experience working with people living with dementia across the acute, subacute and community sectors.

Holly Markwell is a National Program Manager for The Dementia Centre, HammondCare with an extensive background in learning and development including digital content creation, learning needs analysis, workshop facilitation and professional development programming. She has a special interest in music engagement and has collaborated with researchers from Western Sydney University to design learning to support the implementation of personalised playlists for people with dementia and changes to behaviour. Following completion of a BA (Psychology) and Cert IV Training & Assessment, Holly worked in vision rehabilitation and the community aged care sector prior to learning and development roles including Professional Development Coordinator for the Dementia Support Australia team, educator with the SA/NT Dementia Training Study Centre and Alzheimer’s Australia SA, and National Network Coordination for the DBMAS program. Holly now manages the Staying at Home program, Dementia Support Worker and Dementia Engagement Modelling Program for DSA.

ABSTRACT

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, a team of care home leaders, their staff and academics collaborated on the Greater Manchester Teaching Care Homes project. The project involved co-production to develop a community of practice across care homes in the region. As the project concluded the world went into lockdown.

In the UK and worldwide, residents and staff of care homes faced the most challenging of lockdown experiences. With all of the care homes focus on ensuring the well-being of residents and staff, the interaction with academic colleagues from the university was limited to messages of support. As Covid lockdown demands eased, the academics from the project were keen to offer support to their colleagues in the care home sector. Post-Covid online meetings and coaching sessions facilitated opportunities for sharing personal and professional experiences of lockdown and to identify future ways of caring greatly.

The importance of co-production, connection and compassion were evident in the experiences of care home leaders and their academic colleagues. The importance of compassion for others, self-compassion and compassionate leadership was shared through this post-Covid period of re-connection. These are powerful attributes for caring greatly in care homes and for underpinning ongoing collaboration with academic partners.

PRESENTER BIO

Dr Natalie Yates-Bolton is a senior lecturer in Nursing. Her PhD study explored enhancing meaning and purpose in care home life. Natalie teaches post-graduate and under-graduate nurses. Natalie was a co-lead for the Greater Manchester Teaching Care Homes project.

VIDEO ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

Swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) are known to be a highly prevalent sequelae of dementia. Whilst studies suggest dysphagia is present in up to 57% of adults living with dementia, it is likely that most people will experience some symptoms of dysphagia or need for mealtime support as the disease progresses. Swallowing difficulties can have serious consequences including malnutrition, dehydration, weight loss, choking, functional decline and a decrease in quality of life. Managing the risks associated with dysphagia while supporting an individual’s choice to take risks against health guidance can be a challenging area of practice for many care providers.
This paper will explore the many factors inherent in this context, including:

• Legal concepts such as capacity, informed consent, duty of care, dignity of risk and decision-making supports
• Regulatory frameworks and standards including The Aged Care Quality Standards
• Frameworks to support implementation and practice with Eating/Drinking with Acknowledged Risk (EDAR)
• The roles of the team around the person with dementia when providing this support

A Practice Guideline developed for speech pathologists in supporting the process of informed choice for EDAR will be explored including suggested frameworks for practice and areas for future research will be highlighted.

PRESENTER BIO

Kym Torresi is the Senior Advisor Aged Care at Speech Pathology Australia, the national professional association for speech pathologists in Australia. Kym has over 30 years of clinical experience as a speech pathologist and as a manager of programs working with people with dementia and their families, across community and residential aged care settings, and specialist dementia settings including CDAMS dementia diagnostic clinics.

VIDEO ABSTRACT