Published on: August 23, 2021
The DCRC is pleased to announce that we have received Commonwealth Government funding to update our BPSD Guides and Resources. The aim of the DCRC resources is to provide easy access to strategies to support clinicians in the field and family carers in the home when they are presented with changed behaviours associated with dementia.
The Australian Government Department of Health is now funding the DCRC project to update these resources, to be completed by December 2022. The expert advisory group to the project includes representation from those with lived experience of dementia and health professionals experienced in supporting people with dementia who present with changed behaviours.
In 2011 the Australian Government funded the Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration (DCRC) at UNSW Sydney to develop the document Behaviour Management, A Guide to Good Practice, Managing Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD Guide)*.
Further resources were developed based on the evidence and practice-based content of the BPSD Guide including:
- A Clinician’s Field Guide to Good Practice
- A Guide for Family Carers
- The BPSD Guide app for clinicians
- The Care4Dementia app for family and frontline carers (both apps currently have limited functionality due to operating system updates)
The DCRC is seeking consultation with care partners, clinicians, hands-on care staff and service providers across Australia, particularly those who have used the current DCRC BPSD resources. Your input will help ensure the updated resources meet the needs of the targeted audiences. If you are willing to participate in a short phone or Zoom interview, or you prefer to email your comments, please contact Kim Burns at DCRC (k.burns@unsw.edu.au). You can also email Kim to request hard copies (remaining stocks of some versions are limited).
* The terms Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia and BPSD are used respectfully. Dementia terminology has changed since the BPSD Guide was published and this will be reflected in the updated versions. Please see article published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, Language paradigms when behaviour changes with dementia: #BanBPSD (Cunningham et al. 2019). For more information on terminology, please consult the Dementia Language Guidelines produced by Dementia Australia.