Aiming to improve the independence of aged care residents living with mild-to-moderate dementia

Lead project nurse at Calvary Ryde Wei Hu and occupational therapist Linda Maher (front) listen as retired priest and project participant Fr Don Willoughby explains his goals and aspirations.

There is a common misconception that there is little that can be done to support residential aged care residents living with dementia or a mild cognitive impairment to maintain their independence.

“Previous studies have shown that simply isn’t the case,” Calvary Health Care’s senior medical advisory for aged care Dr Tony Hobbs said.

 

The University of Sydney, with residential aged care project partners Calvary and Whiddon, are being enrolled to take part in a five-year research implementation project that aims to improve the independence of residents living with mild-to-moderate dementia.

“This new approach is designed to help residents continue to participate in activities and maintain their independence and function for as long we can,” Dr Hobbs said.

To start the study, the University of Sydney, with residential aged care project partners Calvary and Whiddon, are trialling and evaluating a 20-week Interdisciplinary Care Home-based Reablement Program (I-CHARP) across 16 aged care homes.

The reablement program teams included experienced occupational therapists and nurses to develop holistic and tailored care plans with and for residents based on their individual needs and goals.

Enrolments and detailed assessments for the program began for eligible residents at Calvary’s aged care home in Ryde in Sydney last week, with homes in other parts of the country set to join as the study progresses. Among the first residents to sign up for the study was Fr Don Willoughby, who said he hoped it might “give some insights” and help other people.

The I-CHARP model builds on the Interdisciplinary Home-based Reablement Program (I-HARP), which successfully improved daily independence and slowed further decline among people with mild dementia living in the community.

“Reablement is centered on the idea that health and wellbeing of older people, with or without dementia, can be maximised through helping them participate in their daily physical, social and community activities,” said Project lead Professor Yun-Hee Jeon.

 

“We’ve seen how it can work in other settings. We had many participants in our previous studies who told us how wonderful it was to have that sort of positive outlook rather than saying well ‘you can’t do this and you can’t do that’ all the time.”

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A special thanks to our contributors

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Caroline Egan

DCM Media, agedcare101

Caroline has a wealth of experience writing within the retirement and aged care sector and is a contributing journalist for the Villages.com.au and agedcare101 blog and accompanying newsletters.

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Ian Horswill

Journalist

Ian is a journalist, writer and sub-editor for the aged care sector, working at The DCM Group. He writes for The Weekly Source, agedcare101, villages.com.au and the DCM Institute fortnightly newsletter Friday. Ian is in daily contact with CEOs of retirement living, land lease and the aged care operations and makes a new contact every week. He investigates media releases, LinkedIn and Facebook for a good source for ideas for stories.

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Lauren Broomham

Retirement and Aged Care Journalist

Lauren is a journalist for villages.com.au, agedcare101 and The Donaldson Sisters. Growing up in a big family in small town communities, she has always had a love for the written word, joining her local library at the age of six months. With over eight years' experience in writing and editing, she is a keen follower of news and current affairs with a nose for a good story.

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Jill Donaldson

Physiotherapist

Jill has been practicing as a clinical physiotherapist for 30 years. For the last 13 years she has worked solely in the Aged Care sector in more than 50 metropolitan and regional facilities. Jill has also toured care facilities in the US and Africa and is a passionate advocate for both the residents in aged care and the staff who care for them. She researches and writes for DCM Media.

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Chris Baynes

DCM Media, agedcare101

Chris has been a journalist and publisher in the retirement village and aged care sectors for 11 years. He has visited over 250 retirement villages and 50 aged care facilities both within Australia and internationally. Chris is a regular speaker at industry conferences plus is a frequent radio commentator.

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Annie Donaldson

Nurse and Carer

Annie has a long career in both nursing and the media. She has planned and co-ordinated the medical support from both international TV productions and major stadium events. In recent years she has been a primary family carer plus involved in structured carer support.