Dementia Care

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12 Australian Journal of Dementia Care October/November 2016 Vol 5 No 5
the bus together each week.
Daniel made a great
contribution to the group; he
enjoyed hearing what others
had to say and sharing his own
strategies to assist his declining
memory. Daniel saw the group
as an exercise program for his
brain, saying “it must be useful
because it makes me think”.
Even though he was
experiencing word-finding
difficulty, Daniel was a
particularly vocal member of
the group.
As the program came to an
end, the occupational therapist
referred him to a community
gym. After medical clearance
by his GP and assessment by
the exercise physiologist at the
gym, Daniel started going twice
weekly, and has kept going for
years. He walks to the station
and catches the train to the next
suburb on his own. He enjoys
the gym so much he has
recruited several friends to join
and they go for a coffee and a
sandwich after each session.
Natalie, an occupational
therapist, explains that CST is a
non-pharmacological,
multisensory intervention for
people with mild to moderate
dementia. It’s based on the idea
that consistent stimulation of
memory, attention, language
and other cognitive skills can
potentially be useful in slowing
the rate of cognitive decline
associated with dementia.
This CST program consisted
of a 14-week course, followed
by a 24-week maintenance
course. Additional benefits
observed included reducing
apathy, reawakening of former
interests and skills, establishing
routine and structure and
providing an opportunity for
socialisation. In addition, carers
received support, education
and respite. (See article p42 for
more information about CST).
Wide consultation
The Allies in Dementia:
Optimising Life While Living
With Dementia project was
funded by the Alzheimer’s
Australia National Quality
Dementia Care Initiative with
support from JO and JR
Wicking Trust. This initiative,
run byAlzheimer’s Australia,
sees consumers set priority
areas, select projects and
provide advice through project
steering committees.
Consumers and allied health
professionals were involved at
all stages in the development of
the two guides. The project
steering committee comprised
four members of the
Alzheimer’s Australia
Consumer Dementia Research
Network and four allied health
professionals experienced in
working with people with
dementia. The steering
committee was co-chaired by a
consumer and an allied health
professional.
Aproject officer surveyed
consumers and allied health
professionals to scope the
content, and this information
was used to develop the guides.
The steering committee
provided ongoing feedback.
The final versions of the guides
were endorsed by the steering
committee, the Aged Health
Network of ACI, andACI and
Alzheimer’s Australia
executives.
Where to get the guides
Both the health professionals’
and consumer guides are
available for free download at:
.
health/ allied-health/allies-
in-dementia. The consumer
guide is also available in print
form fromAlzheimer's
Australia offices and as a PDF
at https://fightdementia.
resources/allied-health-
professionals
References
Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare (AIHW) (2014) Australia’s
allied health workforce growing .
Media release. Canberra: AIHW.
Available at:
release-detail/?id=60129549972
(Accessed 09/09/2016).
Alzheimer’s Australia (2011) Pfizer
Health Report Issue #45 – Dementia.
Pfizer Australia.
Guideline Adaptation Committee
(2016) Clinical practice guidelines
and principles of care for people with
people with dementia. NHMRC
Partnership Centre for Dealing with
Cognitive and Related Functional
Decline in Older People. Available at:
http://
medicine/cdpc/documents/resource
s/ dementia-guidelines-full-
document-website.pdf.
Laver K, Dyer S, Whitehead C,
Clemson L, Crotty M (2016)
Interventions to delay functional
decline in people with dementia: a
systematic review of systematic
reviews. BMJ Open 6(4) e010767.
Jacqueline Wesson is an
Occupational Therapist with the
Aged Care Psychiatry Service,
Prince of Wales Hospital, South
Eastern Sydney Local Health District
(SESLHD), iFOCIS Falls Prevention
for People with Dementia study at
Neurosciences Research Australia,
and at the Ageing Work and Health
Research Unit, Faculty of Health
Sciences, University of Sydney;
Jamie Hallen is Co-Chair of the Allied
Health sub-group Aged Health
Network, Agency for Clinical
Innovation and Senior
Physiotherapist, Aged Care Service
in Emergency Teams, Prince of
Wales Hospital, SESLHD; Atosha
Clancy is Project Officer, Aged Health
Network, Agency for Clinical
Innovation; Glen Pang is Network
Manager, Aged Health, Agency for
Clinical Innovation. To follow up on
the article, contact Jamie Hallen at
OT forum showcases best practice
Occupational therapists (OTs) can provide
individualised, evidence-based interventions
that benefit people with dementia, their carers,
family and friends. These include strategies to
maximise an individual’s participation in daily
activities, maximise quality of life through
engaging in enjoyable activities, increase safety
within the home and community, as well as
providing education and support.
However, OT intervention for people with
dementia can be complex due to the array of
symptoms (physical, cognitive and psychosocial)
and gradual functional decline. Intervention has
to address client goals and take into account the
person’s capabilities, carer concerns and needs,
engagement in occupations that are necessary
or enjoyable and the effect of the environment.
Occupational Therapy Australia’s upcoming
dementia forum in Adelaide on 26 October will
present some of the newest evidence-based
techniques for working innovatively with people
with dementia, along with an update on the
latest dementia research from keynote speaker
Professor David Le Couteur. Professor Le
Couteur’s positions include Professor of
Geriatric Medicine at the University of Sydney
and Scientific Director of the Ageing and
Alzheimers Institute at Concord Hospital.
The one-day forum is for OTs working in all
settings, including acute, community and
residential care. Topics include: clinical practice
guidelines, cognitive assessment tools, assistive
technologies, cognitive interventions, managing
changed behaviours and promoting
independence while managing risk.
Forward Thinking: Innovatively Working With
People With Dementia, Thursday 26 October,
Adelaide. Details:
divisions/sa-conferencesforums/2016-
dementia-forum
Jen Coulls, Occupational Therapy Australia
Divisional Manager (SA)