17 March 2009
A consortium, led by Dr Sam Davis of Monash University's School of Rural Health at Bendigo, has secured $1.27 million in funding to improve the care of people with dementia in residential aged care.
The project is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing under the Encouraging Best Practice in Residential Aged Care (EBPRAC) program.
Participating rural residential aged care facilities will work with Monash University, the Loddon-Mallee Primary Care Partnership and McCarthy Psychology Services to create living environments that recognise the experiences of the person with dementia and best supports the person to remain engaged in everyday life in a meaningful way.
One in 600 Victorians under the age of 65 have dementia; for those aged over 70, the likelihood increases to one in 30 people, one in eight people aged over 80 and one in three people aged 90 or more have a form of dementia.
Dementia is the term used to describe the symptoms of a large group of illnesses which cause a progressive decline in a person's functioning. It is a broad term used to describe a loss of memory, intellect, rationality, social skills and what would be considered normal emotional reactions.
"There is a lot of evidence to show how appropriate physical environments and the way care is provided in those environments are an effective way to address behaviours that causes stress, worry, risk of or actual harm to the person with dementia, care staff, family members or those around them," Dr Davis said.
"Working together, researchers, trainers and aged care providers in the consortium, will put this existing information into practice to improve the quality of life for people with dementia."
"The lessons learned in participating Victorian rural aged care facilities will become a blueprint for how to create dementia-friendly environments in aged care facilities around Australia," Dr Davis said.
The Consortium members are:
-- School of Rural Health, Monash University Bendigo
-- Loddon-Mallee Primary Care Partnership
-- McCarthy Psychology Services
-- Mallee Track Health and Community Service
-- Cohuna District Hospital
-- Echuca Regional Health
-- Inglewood and Districts Health Service
-- Tongala and District Memorial Aged Care Service Inc.
-- Boort District Hospital
-- Rochester and Elmore District Health Service.
Further information, contact Dr Sam Davis, Monash University, School of Rural Health, Bendigo on +61 3 5440 9085 or sam.davis@med.monash.edu.au or Samantha Blair, Media and Communications Monash University, +61 3 9903 4841 or +61 439 013 951. | 
