December 2018 Edition [BROWSER]
Welcome

It is my great pleasure to introduce you to our inaugural newsletter. I hope that you find the updates on our education, research and community outreach programs of interest.

One of the most significant issues facing the world in the 21st century concerns how to provide the best possible care for people with dementia at different stages of the condition.

The configuration and quality of dementia care in Australia has been under the microscope in recent years. While there have been many inquiries and reports generated over the last decade, the aged care system continues to confront a substantial set of challenges in providing supportive care for people living with dementia, especially in light of the rapidly increasing prevalence of this condition and constrained resources available through government funded programs.

It was in light of issues around dementia knowledge across the workforce and in the community that the Wicking Centre developed the dementia Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as well as the Diploma, Associate Degree and Bachelor of Dementia Care. There are now thousands of aged care workers and other health care professionals with elevated knowledge, understanding and skills in dementia care.

The recently announced Australian Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety is a further, and hopefully effective, inquiry into the issues of aged care, with dementia as a particular focus. My hope is that the solutions component will be meaningful, and will involve innovative and effective approaches to boost aged care quality and safety. Radical, well-funded and nationwide changes and approaches will be required.

Thanks to the wonderful support of the J.O. & J.R. Wicking Trust, the Understanding Dementia MOOC will be a free and highly accessible tool to assist Australia in meeting these challenges. We also hope that our formal dementia care courses will also be part of the solution, as we plan further developments in aged care and dementia education throughout 2019.

With best wishes for the New Year.


 
Our Community

Cards to have conversations about dementia

3rd Annual Tasmanian Dementia Symposium

Wicking Centre Courses win State Export Award

In collaboration with Dementia Australia (Tasmanian Division), Dr Kathleen Doherty and Dr Helen Courtney-Pratt are working with people experiencing the impact of dementia to co-design a new resource, “Living with Dementia” Conversation Cards to assist starting conversations about dementia. Read more

The Wicking Dementia Centre hosted the 3rd Annual Tasmanian Dementia Symposium to promote understanding and open conversations about future research and new collaborations. Read more

The Wicking Dementia Centre has taken out a major award for its ‘Understanding Dementia’ and ‘Preventing Dementia’ Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), at the prestigious Tasmanian Export Awards. Read more


 
Our Education

Bachelor study helps to reshape career

Enrol today: 2019 dates released

Dementia course has big impact

Danielle Dyce, Bachelor of Dementia Care student, explains how the course helped her reshape her career and provide better care for her mother living with dementia “I don’t think they would have created that position for me if I hadn’t taken on the degree”. Read more

Understanding Dementia
(7 week duration):
19 February & 9 July

Preventing Dementia
(4 week duration):
14 May & 01 October

Bachelor of Dementia Care
Semester 1: 25 February

Visit utas.edu.au/wicking to enrol or for information.

"The Understanding Dementia MOOC has lit the fire in my belly". Witnessing his father in-law struggle with dementia sparked a passion within John Ansell to enrol in the free online course to learn more and also become an active member of the community. Read more


 
Our Research

Dr Bill on plasticity and neuroscience

RedUSe research sparks industry change

Neural synapse PhD study

Dr Bill Bennett is a Researcher in synaptic plasticity and has produced a short video to describe his research. Read more

Reducing Use of Sedatives or ‘RedUSe’ is an innovative national project, led by the Wicking Centre's Dr Juanita Westbury, that promotes the appropriate use of sedatives, in particular, antipsychotics and benzodiazepines, in Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities. Read more

PhD student Barbora Fulopova's research aims to extend understanding of mechanisms underlying synapse plasticity, and whether such plasticity can be stimulated by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Read more


 
Our Team

Associate Professor Anna King

Associate Director for Research, Associate Professor Anna King, answers a few questions on how she came to work at the Wicking Dementia Centre and what she and her team hope to achieve in 2019.

Anna's research focuses on investigating the neurodegenerative diseases of ageing, including frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer's disease and motor neuron disease. She is particularly interested in determining the mechanisms by which the connections between nerve cells are lost in these diseases. Read more


 
Help us keep dementia education free

Philanthropy vital to changing lives

The Wicking Dementia Centre was established through funding from a significant donation from the J.O. & J.R. Wicking Trust (managed by Equity Trustees), and, today, philanthropy remains a founding principle that underpins the Centre’s mission and purpose.

Our vision is to transform the understanding of dementia across the community, in aged care and health systems, for people with dementia and their carers, and to inform new approaches to the prevention of dementia to reduce the age-related incidence of this condition.

Dementia is the primary public health issue of the 21st century. The ageing of the population world-wide will lead to an accelerating increase in dementia prevalence. We need your help to create knowledge and provide education to people globally, and to inform the wider population of risk factors for dementia so that we can reduce the numbers of people with dementia in the future. By donating to the Wicking Dementia Centre, you can help us reach those most in need of our free dementia education programs.

Make a donation today.


 
        utas.edu.au/wicking

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