A University of Sydney program to improve the lives of aged care residents with dementia has received an extra $1.2 million in Federal Government funding.
The project will see the University work with aged care providers to implement person-centred reablement programs, which aim to enable people with dementia to improve independence and function, including for day-to-day activities – programs for which people with dementia, owing to the progressive nature of the condition, were previously deemed unsuitable.
According to Professor Yun-Hee Jeon, Susan and Isaac Wakil Professor of Healthy Ageing in the University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health, 52 per cent of Australian aged care residents have a dementia diagnosis, with a further 20 to 30 per cent living with some form of cognitive impairment.
“Over the next five years, we will work with our partners and people with dementia and their carers to co-design, implement and assess the effectiveness of reablement programs with the ultimate goal to disseminate a sustainable reablement model for residential aged care.
“This is an important priority as we know these programs can make a significant and meaningful difference in people’s lives and are very much in line with the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety,” she said.
Dementia Australia and Leading Age Services Australia, and aged care service providers HammondCare, Calvary, Whiddon and Bolton Clarke, are among the University’s partners for the project – here’s hoping it leads to better outcomes for some of the most vulnerable Australians.
