Post Diagnostic Support for People Living with Dementia and their Carers

Developing novel solutions to meet the needs of people living with dementia and their carers. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has an estimated 6,600 people living with dementia. While people with dementia access several services in the ACT Health system, there is a need for dementia specific interventions for people with dementia who must prioritise maintenance of independence and delaying functional and cognitive decline. People with dementia and carers in the ACT report feeling “ping-ponged” between services and have challenges accessing appropriate and timely post-diagnostic dementia care. Therefore, novel solutions are needed to meet the needs of people living with dementia and their carers. In this webinar Dr Nathan D'Cunha will: - Describe the current gaps in dementia services offered in the ACT region; - Present results of a hospital-based trial of a twelve-week multi-component rehabilitation program for people with dementia and their care partners; - Discuss the ongoing development of a co-designed, short, targeted, at-home allied health dementia program. Each of these service delivery initiatives heavily rely on Allied Health Assistants. Together, the presented findings will offer insights into initiatives towards service delivery improvement in the ACT, which can potentially inform dementia services Australia-wide.