Bolton Clarke Research Institute has received a Dementia Australia Research Foundation Pilot Grant to undertake an exciting new project called Mind the Gap! which will explore better approaches to respite and transition care for people with dementia and their carers.
The grant is part of $1.5 million that has been allocated for 19 projects supporting research into some of the bigger dementia-related challenges.
According to BCRI Research Fellow Dr Claudia Meyer “this project aims to co-design a new and novel approach to short-term residential respite care and transition into permanent care in conjunction with people living with dementia, their carers and residential aged care teams,” she said. “The project is designed to generate ideas on what might work rather than testing a known intervention.”
Dr Meyer said supportive residential respite care (with or without a transition to permanent care) was important for times when the emotional and physical demands of care giving were no longer manageable.” Respite provides a pause or rest from the duties of caring but doesn’t necessarily require a physical distancing from the person living with dementia” she said.
A prototype program will be generated from the co-design sessions.
Photo: Dr Claudia Meyer
