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A Guide for Care Workers
This booklet has been written to help you understand why it is important for you to support people with dementia make everyday decisions. There are practical examples in this booklet of how to do this. All people want to be treated in a way that is consistent with their own wishes and preferences. People want to make decisions based on information they have been given and their personal experience where possible. Being involved in decisions and making decisions is part of being a ‘person’. Everyone has the right to be acknowledged and respected as a person.
Online Dementia Risk Assessment (hosted by ANU)
The term ‘dementia’ describes a syndrome of more than 100 different diseases affecting the brain. The most common cause (approximately 50–70%) of dementia is Alzheimer's disease. This resources is for anyone who wants to assess their risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease.
Clinician’s Field Guide to Good Practice (Behaviours & Psychological Symptoms of Dementia)
The Clinician’s Field Guide is a ‘travel size’ hands-on summary of the original and comprehensive document Behaviour Management: A Guide to Good Practice, Managing Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD). This smaller guide for clinicians provides easy access to key messages, BPSD descriptions, potential causes and brief clinical scenarios to guide assessment and management strategies.
Behaviour Management: A Guide to Good Practice (BPSD Guide)
The document Behaviour Management: A Guide to Good Practice, Managing Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) is a comprehensive overview of evidence and practice-based management principles for BPSD*. This resource is designed for clinicians with a role in caring for people with dementia in residential aged care facilities (RACFs), community care and acute care settings. The BPSD Guide provides guidance for clinicians supporting family members and carers as well as RACF and community care staff caring for people with dementia who present with BPSD.
Posters for Remote Aboriginal Communities – Behaviours and Psychological Symptoms associated with Dementia
The BPSD Posters for Remote Aboriginal Communities are a set of posters based on the principles outlined in the document Behaviour Management – A Guide to Good Practice: Managing Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD). The posters were developed in collaboration with the Dementia Behaviour Management Advisory Service, Northern Territory (DBMAS NT) and other expert clinicians to support a series of BPSD videos developed by DBMAS NT.
Webinar: Symposium 1 – Changed Behaviours – Fri 18 June 2021
Presented by DCRC & DTA
Disinhibited behaviours are actions which seem tactless, rude or even offensive. They occur when a person’s words and/or actions don’t follow the generally understood social rules about what or where to say or do something.
Recorded Friday 18 June, 2021
Presented by Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration (DCRC) & Dementia Training Australia (DTA)
Running Time: 2:22
Clinical Practice Guidelines for Dementia in Australia (2016)
The guidelines contain 109 recommendation that health and aged care staff should apply in their workplaces while also responding to the needs and preferences of the person with dementia and their carer(s) and family. Of these recommendations, 29 were evidence based recommendations, seven were classified as consensus based recommendations and 73 were practice points.
Dementia Pathways Tool
Dementia is one of the fastest growing conditions in Australia, with prevalence rates expected to rise steadily over coming years. The primary health care workforce is at the forefront of dementia care, providing essential support across the disease continuum, from early diagnosis to ongoing management. However, it has been recognised that the disease complexity places significant demand on primary health care workers.
Dementia SPEAKE (Service Provider’s Evaluation and Knowledge Exchange)
Dementia SPEAKE (Service Provider’s Evaluation and Knowledge Exchange) program is designed to help service providers develop evaluation skills within their workforce. Currently, written materials are available on the Dementia SPEAKE website. The Dementia SPEAKE program also included face to face workshops, written materials and ongoing support from experienced researchers.
Diagnosis and care of Aboriginal people with dementia in remote communities (2012)
These guidelines have been provided to ensure that people with dementia who live in remote communities are correctly diagnosed and receive the services that they, and their families, require. They are directed at health professionals and aged care coordinators.
Dementia Outcomes Measurement Suite (DOMS)
The Dementia Outcomes Measurement Suite or DOMS is a compendium of validated tools for the assessment of various aspects of dementia by health care professionals. The DOMS project was originally commissioned under the Australian government’s National Dementia Initiative, and was designed to develop a standard suite of instruments that would be promulgated throughout Australia to encourage clinicians to ‘talk the same language’ by using the same instruments as much as possible.
14 Essentials for good dementia care in General Practice
Life can change considerably for people with dementia and their families. Care needs may vary considerably over the course of dementia and support will be needed from a good general practice. The ‘14 essentials’ is a step-by-step guide that provides practical points for professionals in general practice (e.g. the doctor, practice nurse) to guide management.
E-learning tool for bank staff
Financial abuse is the most common form of elder abuse Capacity Australia, established to promote education regarding capacity and abuse prevention across health, legal and financial sectors, was awarded a grant by the Dementia Collaborative Research Centre to educate the banking sector on financial abuse and dementia. The aim was to develop a knowledge translation tool for bank staff on this issue.
GPCOG: General Practitioner assessment of COGnition
The general practitioner assessment of cognition (GPCOG) is a reliable, valid and efficient instrument to screen for dementia specifically in a primary care setting. It takes less than 4 minutes for a GP to administer the patient assessment and 2 minutes to interview family caregiver. This resource is for professionals working in a primary care […]
Dementia Risk Reduction Guide for GPs
This guide provides information for GPs about modifiable risk and protective factors for dementia. Each section explains the evidence for the association of that factor with dementia risk and provides a practical guide to the resources available to GPs to assist them to work with their patients to address factors of concern. Where possible, hyperlinks […]
Hierarchic Dementia Scale-Revised (HDS-R)
The Hierarchic Dementia Scale-Revised (HDS-R) is a comprehensive assessment of cognitive abilities for people with dementia. It measures 20 different cognitive functions rating each one on a hierarchy. It can be used across the entire course of dementia from diagnosis through to end-of-life care.
Webinar: Involving CALD Communities in Dementia Research
Presented by Associate Professor Bianca Brijnath
With one in three older people being from a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background, Australia is both an increasingly ageing and multicultural nation. However, there is an
under-representation of CALD communities in dementia research.
Recorded Thursday 15 April, 2021
Presented by Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration (DCRC)
Running Time: 53:30
Humour Therapy
About 400 residents from 36 hostels and nursing homes were randomly assigned to receive the either the SMILE intervention or usual care. For the intervention, ElderClowns visited weekly for 12 weeks, and staff volunteers were trained as LaughterBosses to bring humour to daily care routines.
Person-centred care assessment tool (P-Cat)
Person-centred care is a way of thinking and doing things that places people and their families at the centre of decisions and seeing them as experts, working alongside professionals to get the best outcome. Person-centred care considers sees the people as individuals, rather than focusing on routines and practices for care tasks.
Residential Respite Care Transitions for Families & Carers
While residential respite care has been identified as an essential support for carers of people with dementia, there has been carer reluctance to use such services. Reported factors include perceptions that the respite experience will be detrimental to the health and behavioural stability of the person with dementia, and that carers experience feelings of increased anxiety and guilt when care is relinquished.
Residential Respite Care Transitions for Health Professionals
While residential respite care has been identified as an essential support for carers of people with dementia, as it provides family carers with an opportunity to take a break from the caring role, there has been carer reluctance to use such services.
DTA’s Responsive Behaviour App
Dementia Training Australia’s (DTA) Responsive Behaviours App is an on-the-spot reference point for health professionals and care staff working with people with dementia. Underpinned by a person-centred approach, this app will help you look up common responsive behaviours, find approaches to help you problem solve, address responsive behaviours and help prevent them. THE APP INCLUDES: […]
Webinar: Time Travelling with Technology (TTT) for People with Dementia
Time Travelling with Technology (TTT) for People with Dementia
Recorded 26 April, 2019
Presented by Professor Kate Stevens
Director of MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour & Development at Western Sydney University
Running Time: 54:58
Webinar: Day 2 – Anxiety and Depression in Dementia Research Network (ADDResearch)
In November 2020 two DCRC online symposia took place for people interested in dementia research on improving care and reducing changed behaviours and psychological symptoms associated with dementia.
The aims of Day 2 of the symposia were to launch the new ‘Anxiety and Depression in Dementia Research Network (ADDResearch)’ and the focus was on research into anxiety and depression in dementia. This network is a collaboration between UNSW Sydney and the University of Queensland and is co-led by Drs Claire Burley and Nadeeka Dissanayaka.
Recorded Wednesday, 11 November 2020
Presented by Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration (DCRC) & University of Queensland
Running Time: 02:30:00
Webinar: Day 1 – Changed behaviours and psychological symptoms associated with dementia
In November 2020 two DCRC online symposia took place for people interested in dementia research on improving care and reducing changed behaviours and psychological symptoms associated with dementia.
The aims of Day 1 of the symposia were to discuss research activities involving changed behaviours and/or psychological symptoms associated with dementia and care for people living with dementia. This event forms part of the special interest group led by Dr Claire Burley
Recorded Wednesday, 4 November 2020
Presented by Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration (DCRC)
Running Time: 02:30:00
Webinar: Understanding Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia and Antipsychotic Medications
How to understand, prevent, and remedy Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD). This video is a webinar originally recorded for the HALT project as part of an accredited educational activity for GPs.
Recorded June 2016
Presenter: Professor Henry Brodaty
Running Time: 90 minutes
Behaviour and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia Guide for Clinicians App (currently unavailable)
An app developed to provide guidance for clinicians in their role of assisting residential aged care facility staff, community care staff and family members caring for persons living with dementia, who present with behavioural and psychological symptoms. This App provides summary information relevant to the most commonly presenting behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD): […]
Care4Dementia App (currently unavailable)
This App was developed to provide information and support for carers in their role of caring for persons with behavioural changes that can occur in dementia. Information on what these behaviours look like, why they might be happening and what you can do to help is included for those most commonly reported by carers. Understanding why behavioural changes are occurring can help to manage the behaviour.