Dementia Care

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Vol 5 No 5 October/November 2016 Australian Journal of Dementia Care 23
DCRC SPEC I AL I SSUE : THE B I G P I CTURE I N DEMENT I A RESEARCH
This is the second of two special issues of the Australian Journal of Dementia
Care, bringing together a selection of articles from Australia’s Dementia
Collaborative Research Centres (DCRCs). The articles in this issue look at the
‘Big Picture in Dementia Research’, celebrating DCRC achievements over
the past decade and showcasing the centres’ latest research and knowledge translation efforts.
Translating Dementia Research into Practice
“What can a few dedicated people enriched by a
large grant, good ideas, abundant goodwill and
cooperation from others achieve in improving
the lives of people with dementia and their
families?” Professor Henry Brodaty (2008)
This question introduced the mid-term
report from the Dementia
Collaborative Research Centres
(DCRCs). Looking back from 2016, we find
rich examples for the keywords in that
2008 question:
‘Dedicated people’
In October 2006, the DCRCs were a
handful of dementia research enthusiasts,
planting ideas in three university sites. In
2016, we have matured to a single national
‘network of networks’, involving
thousands of dedicated people and
organisations. The DCRC impact is
international. For example our Canberra
teamwas a key influence inAustralia’s
pledge to lead prevention initiatives for
the World Health Organisation (WHO)
Global ActionAgainst Dementia,
including an International Research
Network on Dementia Prevention.
Dedicated DCRC projects have improved
understanding of dementia behaviours
and carer strategies (see p60, BPSD project
and p57, walking program).
‘Large grant, good ideas’
We believe that the DCRCs are the largest
Australian research network bringing
scientists into daily contact with every
society sector…including children! (see the
Kids4Dementia project, p30). Our strength
is growing team leaders – nurturing talent
from PhD to Chief Investigator. As for
good ideas, some DCRC projects were so
innovative they were laughable – literally
– such as the SMILE Study; while others
apply innovative technology (see p54,
lifespace project).
We celebrate manyAustralian firsts led
by DCRC people and projects – a few are
mapped overleaf. They include the first
nationally representative study of quality
of life in residential aged care, the first
online validated dementia risk assessment,
and the first suite of reviewed
recommended dementia assessment tools
for Australian clinicians.
‘Abundant goodwill and cooperation’
We are proud of our many publications,
conference presentations, and education
seminars. Co-operation is key for this
rapid knowledge translation – a priority
theme for our nine annual Forums since
2007, with the hallmark goodwill ensuring
each year felt like a reunion of friends. Co-
operation has been fundamental to
ensuring resources are kept up-to-date and
websites remain current (see the articles on
GPCOG, DOMS and the newDementiaKT
Hub on the following pages).
‘Lives of people’
People with dementia matter. We have
supported projects on complex topics
valued by consumers – including
friendship (see p52, on social network
analysis), issues for younger onset
dementia (see p35), and how to
understand cognitive rehabilitation (see
p37). Our shared vision is seamless rapid
translation of new knowledge into practice
and policy, involving consumers as much
as possible in DCRC activities. It is fitting
that our consumer advocate and friend, Dr
Jane Thompson, authored the guest
editorial for this DCRC-sponsored special
issue of AJDC that celebrates our decade of
achievement. Consumers frequently tell
dementia researchers ‘nothing about us
without us’. We reply: ‘without you, there
never was need for an us’.
In 2016 we awarded 26 new grants (see
p32) in our first national call as a member
organisation of the NHMRC National
Institute of Dementia Research (NNIDR).
We look forward to the next DCRC chapter
as a unitary program of research priorities
with knowledge translation opportunities
for practice and policy. We hope for a
horizon long enough to deliver more of the
Big Picture – to build KT capacity (see p26,
DementiaKT Hub) and help establish a
national dementia registry (see p33).
It has been a busy 10 years. We share a
few of our project highlights in the
following pages. Thank you for your
interest in the DCRC journey.
Looking at The Big Picture
By DCRC Directors Professor Henry
Brodaty, Professor Elizabeth
Beattie and Professor Kaarin Anstey
The DCRC Directors
Professor Elizabeth Beattie (left),
Director of the Dementia Collaborative
Research Centre: Carers and
Consumers, based at Queensland
University of Technology, Brisbane,
since 2008. In 2015, for contributions to
aged care and psychogeriatrics,
Elizabeth was inducted as Fellow of the
American Academy of Nursing – an
honour given to few outside the US.
Professor Kaarin Anstey (centre),
Director of the DCRC: Early Diagnosis and Prevention, based at Australian National
University, Canberra, since 2011. For her international social-behavioural research in
gerontology, Kaarin received the prestigious 2009 Busse Research Award in the Social
and Behavioural Sciences.
Professor Henry Brodaty (right), Director of the DCRC: Assessment and Better Care,
based at UNSW Australia, Sydney, since 2006. Henry’s lifetime of achievement in dementia
research has been recognised with the prestigious international Ryman Prize in 2016.