| DECEMBER 2023 NEWSLETTER |  |
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Wishing you a happy festive season and new year!
It is with great pleasure that we present our December newsletter. It has been a very busy 2023 for the Wicking Dementia Centre. We were very happy to receive new funding from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care for a collaborative project with Dementia Support Australia to support the dementia respite workforce through education and coaching. The last few months have involved getting organised with the various elements of the program, for roll-out in 2024. Another pleasing development has been a new collaboration with Dementia Training Australia to support our dementia Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). New funding will be used to update the MOOCs to ensure that the content is contemporary and useful. It has been 10 years since we first offered the Understanding Dementia MOOC, and there continues to be strong interest in these courses, with now just over 600K enrolments since we developed this initiative. The MOOCs were developed to address knowledge gaps around dementia, and it is great that there are now many options to build capacity in dementia, including excellent offerings from our partners. 2023 was also a successful year for our research activities, with new funding and a record number of publications across our themes of the care, cause and prevention of dementia.
Thank you to all for your continued support of the mission of the Centre to make a difference in the lives of people with dementia and those that care for them. I hope that you are able to have a restful break over the festive season, and that we can reconnect with you around research and education related to dementia in 2024.
|  | | New Partnership with Dementia Training Australia | 
Dementia Training Australia is proud to announce its sponsorship of The Wicking Dementia Research & Education Centre's Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on dementia. This collaboration unites Australia's leading dementia education providers in a shared mission to democratize and expand access to high-quality dementia education.
This investment will support a range of initiatives including administration, redevelopment, marketing, and enhancement of the Learning Management System. The MOOCs are expected to enroll between 60,000 to 80,000 participants annually, with plans to explore 'always-on' delivery models and business-to-business engagement. "With Dementia Training Australia’s support, we are not only enhancing our existing programs but also exploring innovative delivery models and new educational pathways. Together, we are set to expand our reach and deepen our impact, making a tangible difference in the lives of those affected by dementia," said Professor James Vickers, Director of The Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre. Click here to listen to the announcement.
| | DREAM Project | 
The DREAM Project is a new national project that aims to improve dementia respite care. DREAM will deliver a tailored online portal that supports integrated leaning and professional development. The Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre and Dementia Support Australia are collaborating to create and deliver a program of online learning, a community of practice and face- to-face coaching for respite care providers. The DREAM Project is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care and will be free to access. If you would like to register your interest to find out more, please visit dream.utas.edu.au.
| | Our 2023 Graduating Students | 
Congratulations to our December 2023 Graduates!
On Thursday 14 December 2023 we celebrated the success of our December graduates who had completed their studies in; - Diploma of Dementia Care
- Bachelor of Dementia Care
- Master of Dementia Care
- PhD Student - Dr Sharon Stoddart
Thank you to all the graduates and their family and friends that joined us in a celebratory morning tea and tour of the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre. Many of our students started their study with us by enrolling in one of our MOOCs (massive open online learning), many starting with the Understanding Dementia MOOC. By completing this free, online course, it gave them the confidence to continue their studies and enrol in the Diploma of Dementia Care.
In 2023, the Wicking Dementia Centre has had a total of 364 graduating students. - Diploma of Dementia Care – 268
- Diploma of Ageing Studies and Services – 3
- Associate Degree of Dementia – 23
- Bachelor of Dementia Care – 26
- Graduate Certificate of Dementia – 21
- Graduate Diploma of Dementia – 3
- Master of Dementia – 20
We wish every graduating student every success in their future, we know that they will make a positive difference to the lives of people living with dementia.
| | Our Research |
Parkinson's Disease - a disease that increases the risk of dementia.
The Wicking Dementia Centre's Associate Professor Jane Alty and team have had two new papers published related to Parkinson’s disease, a condition that increases the risk of dementia. This work overlaps with the ISLAND Sleep study that is investigating REM sleep behaviour disorder (prodromal Parkinson’s disease) as well as TAS Test (examining motor-cognitive changes across different neurodegenerative disorders). Paper 1: Was a clinical audit in collaboration with the Royal Hobart Hospital looking at prescribing patterns for people receiving end of life care for Parkinson’s disease and finding that further improvements are required to reduce distress.
Paper 2: Was a collaboration with Monash University, a scoping review examining the sensory changes in Parkinson’s disease (PD) which is classically considered a motor disorder and finding that there are a myriad of sensory changes in PD that need to be addressed to improve people's quality of life. For more information, please click onto the links below. PAPER 1: Hewer, C., Richfield, E., Halton, C., & Alty, J. (2023). Transdermal rotigotine at end-of-life for Parkinson's disease: Association with measures of distress. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2023.10.002 PAPER 2: Permezel, F., Alty, J. Harding, I.H., & Thyagarajan, D. (2023). Brain networks involved in sensory perception in Parkinson’s disease: A scoping review. Brain Sciences, 13(11), 1552. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13111552
| | 2023 Wicking Dementia Centre Annual Appeal | 
Thank you for your generosity!
As you may be aware, we send letters and emails to our supporters asking them to support the work we do here at Wicking. This is called an Appeal – and here at Wicking we run one to two of these per year.
This year’s appeal features Leigh Klein – one of our volunteers. Leigh is a retired healthcare professional and has over 50 years of experience in the sector. On Wednesdays, Leigh is the face of the Wicking Dementia Centre’s ISLAND Clinic — our dementia and cognitive assessment clinic. Leigh calls it a ‘one stop shop’ for testing people with cognitive impairment to see if they are living with dementia. “The clinic is helping people to get a diagnosis — and that’s really important for them and their families,” she says. Leigh meets participants with a smile when they arrive, and shepherds them through their day of assessments. “It’s a long day”, she says. “But when they have finished, most of our participants will have a diagnosis and a management plan to work through with their GPs. We also have a Dementia Australia counsellor to assist with practical questions and support”. We are so pleased to let you know that our 2023 Appeal has raised an amazing $25,400. These funds will be used to support our work to improve the lives of people with dementia and their carers. - 583 donations were made by individuals and organisations
- An amazing 447 are new donors (welcome!),
- 13 people decided to make their gift recurring and
Your support means that we can continue to offer our Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) at no cost to participants; we can continue to grow our ISLAND Project and keep developing our world class research. We thank all in our community who support the work we do – and thank you Leigh for sharing your story. | | Join Our Community |  |
Are you one of the 1.5 million people that are involved in dementia care?
Join a supportive group of carers, both personal and professional as you learn how to care for those affected by dementia. Study online, without tuition fees from February 2024. Studying dementia has never been easier or more affordable, if you would like to expand your knowledge of dementia care, here’s some good news! Take advantage of studying the Diploma of Dementia Care without tuition fees in 2024 – for domestic students commencing study in February 2024, we’re offering the Diploma of Dementia Care with a 100% HECS fee scholarship (conditions apply), this means you pay NO tuition fees. If you would like to find out more about the Diploma of Dementia Care please contact us. We also offer fully online postgraduate study opportunities in dementia for graduates and professionals currently working with or building their expertise in dementia. Apply today to re-start your studies in 2024, visit our website to learn more about your study options. If you would like further information about our post graduate study options, please contact Wicking.PostGrad@utas.edu.au Enrich your career and make a positive difference to the lives of others – study with the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre from February 2024.
| | Our Free Education |
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FREE Understanding Dementia MOOC | FREE Traumatic Brain Injury MOOC |
Anyone can develop dementia, everyone can help. Dementia has a profound impact on individuals, families and communities, and the number of people with dementia across the world increases every year as our global population ages. The Understanding Dementia course examines the diseases that cause dementia, how they impact the person with dementia and the treatments and care practices that enhance quality of life across the trajectory of dementia for people with the condition, their families and caregivers. ENROL TODAY | Did you know that a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can occur if you are involved in a car accident, have a fall, a physical altercation or from a sporting accident? TBI is often referred to as a silent epidemic with more than 69 million people globally sustaining a TBI every year. This online course aims to raise awareness and build knowledge to reduce risk, as well as improve management and rehabilitation outcomes for people who have experienced a TBI. ENROL TODAY |
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