It is with great pleasure that we present our 2023 September Newsletter. The timing is particularly apt as September is World Alzheimer’s Month, with a series of events and initiatives planned for having a positive impact on dementia occurring across the globe. In Australia, September 18-24 is Dementia Action Week and Dementia Australia has made a particular call for greater efforts to make this country dementia-friendly.  There is still a significant amount of stigma and discrimination in relation to dementia across Australia, and there is significant scope for us to make our communities more inclusive of people with dementia.

 A particular highlight of this newsletter is a new major project for the Wicking Centre in the area of the education, support and training of the workforce that is involved in providing respite opportunities for people with dementia and their carers. We are particularly excited to be developing and delivering this new venture in collaboration with Dementia Support Australia (DSA), especially as DSA has been active in delivering new models of dementia respite care. Across Australia, there has been a boost in innovative models for dementia respite, and we hope to be able to set up a capacity for staff to not only increase their knowledge of dementia but also to be able to share effective approaches with colleagues interested in this area.

Finally, this is also the month that we run an appeal for philanthropic support. We are very grateful to all of those who have been able to contribute towards the programs of the Centre, as this allows us to be innovative in developing new approaches that relate to the care, cause and prevention of dementia.   

A Tasmanian-led national training program designed to improve respite care for people living with dementia has received $8 million in federal funding.

The University of Tasmania’s Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre was awarded the funding from the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care to develop the DREAM project.

The Dementia Respite Education and Mentoring (DREAM) project will deliver education and training to improve aged care provider capability in delivering quality respite care for people living with dementia, including successful transitions in and out of their respite services.

The $8 million in funding will deliver an integrated program of online learning and professional development, as well as providing face-to-face mentorship across the country in collaboration with national provider Dementia Support Australia.

DREAM aims to improve the quality of care and quality of life for people with dementia, and those who provide care to people with dementia.

Distinguished Professor James Vickers, Director of the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, said the purpose of DREAM was to improve the quality of life for people with dementia accessing respite services.

“This funding will allow us to increase the skills and capacity of staff working in respite care to provide person-centred care, improve the respite care experience for those accessing it and empower carers with knowledge and skills to support care at home and maintain their own wellbeing,” he said.

DREAM brings together the expertise of the University of Tasmania (Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre and School of Nursing) and Dementia Support Australia to provide support for growing and empowering the respite care workforce across Australia through:

• A tailored online portal that supports integrated online learning and professional development of aged care workers in respite settings.

• Additional online learning opportunities designed for people seeking access to respite support.

• An accessible, curated program of online learning, including additional learning support materials and opportunities for extended learning.

• Opportunity for engagement in an online community of practice.

• Provision of on-the-ground mentoring.

• Capacity for rapid response and tailored support to teams providing respite care.

FREE - Burnie and Devonport Community Information Evening

Join Distinguished Professor James Vickers, Director of the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre along with researchers from the ISLAND Project to a presentation on 'The capacity for dementia risk reduction and the lessons learnt from the Tasmanian ISLAND Project'.

September is World Alzheimer's Month, we hope you take this opportunity to join us to hear about our latest research results, there will be presentations on the ISLAND Project, TAS Test, the Resilience study and there will be a Q and A session at the end of the presentation. 

Date: Wednesday 27 September 2023 

Time: Join us for light refreshments from 5.30pm to 6pm, followed by the presentation from 6.00pm and concluding at 7.30pm.

Place: University of Tasmania Campus, West Park Precinct, Burnie.

Tickets: Click on the below link to book your FREE tickets.

CLICK HERE - BOOK YOUR TICKET

PALZ – Professionals with Alzheimer’s or related Diseases

Do you know someone or just diagnosed with Alzheimer's or similar disease?

• Who has had a working life that has been full of responsibilities, challenges, meetings and conferences.
• Who is feeling a loss of identity, self-respect, dignity.
• Who are missing social and intellectual stimulation of peers.

PALZ – Professionals with Alzheimer's - PALZ provides a monthly, interactive meeting/zoom environment with corporate speakers, and is an opportunity to discuss current issues with fellow professionals. Attendees are capable, thinking, independent professionals who just happen to have Alzheimer's or similar disease.

Groups operating (or currently being established) in: Geelong; Melbourne; Sydney; Canberra; Brisbane; Perth; and now in Shropshire, UK.

Referrals or more information are through e-mail request to Cathy Roth OAM.

Email: cathy.roth@bigpond.com Mobile: 0418 593 556 (leave a message)

Website: www.palzglobal.org.au Facebook: PALZglobal

Estimating pre-symptomatic episodic memory impairment using simple hand movement tests

The Wicking Dementia Centre are delighted to announce that a team of Wicking Centre and ICT researchers, led by PhD candidate Ms Xinyi Wang and Associate Professor Jane Alty, recently published a new research paper in one of the leading Dementia journals - Alzheimer's and Dementia.

The team used simple brief (less than 2 minutes) keyboard tapping tests from the NHMRC-funded TAS Test project to evaluate how hand movement features compared to subtle declines in episodic memory in more than 1,100 ISLAND Project participants. They excluded any participants with cognitive symptoms or a cognitive diagnosis and adjusted results for age, sex, mood and education. 

They found that hand movements slow down and become less accurate with asymptomatic subtle memory disturbance, a proxy measure for preclinical Alzheimer's disease. This research opens up a new field of research and may provide opportunities to use simple hand movement tests to stratify dementia risk in the community.

For more information see; Wang, X., St George, R.J., Bindoff, A., Noyce, A.J., Lawler, K., Roccati, E., Bartlett, L., Tran, S.N., Vickers, J.C., Bai, Q., & Alty, J. (2023). Estimating pre-symptomatic episodic memory impairment using simple hand movement tests: A cross-sectional study of a large sample of older adults. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13401

Help improve the lives of people living with dementia - please give a gift today.

The Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, wants to support people with dementia and their carers by focusing on the cause, care and prevention of the major diseases underlying dementia.

By making a donation you can make a real difference for future generations in the field of dementia research and education. More than 500,000 people across the world have enrolled in our Dementia MOOCs. These free courses are transforming the understanding of dementia worldwide, educating carers, families and professionals to improve the quality of life of people with dementia, and helping others reduce their risk of developing the disease.

As the number of Australians living with dementia continues to grow at a staggering rate, so does the need for education and understanding.

This is why we need your help. Will you donate today?

Your tax-deductible gift today will help the Wicking Dementia Centre expand our MOOCs and offer them to more people, in more countries, at no cost. 

Please Donate Today

CRICOS Provider Code: 00586B | ABN 30 764 374 782