Our program aims to develop, implement, and evaluate strategies to improve the well being and quality of care provided to people with dementia and their caregivers.
Dementia is a complex condition that directly effects over 400,000 Australians – a number that is expected to reach over half a million in the next few years (NATSEM, 2016). Dementia has multiple health, practical, social and psychological consequences for the person with dementia, their caregivers, and broader social networks.
Dementia is the single greatest cause of disability for Australians aged over 65 and the third leading cause of disability overall (AIHW, 2012). In Australia, most people with dementia (70%) live in the community, supported by family, friends, informal caregivers and professional carers. Many community-dwelling people with dementia have unmet needs relating to personal and home safety, health and medical care, meaningful adult activities and legal or financial issues, while many caregivers have unmet needs relating to education and resource referrals, mental and general health, financial needs and medical care. Our mission is to address this by testing and implementing strategies designed to address concerns of people with dementia and their caregivers.
The ACcORD will ensure that the program is responsive to evolving consumer, policy, and clinical needs.
We aim to:
- Develop valid and reliable measures for assessing unmet needs
- Explore barriers and enablers to optimal service delivery
- Understand legal and financial barriers faced by health care providers and caregivers when supporting a person with dementia
- Test the impact of innovative strategies to improve health outcomes for people with dementia and their caregivers