Dr Sarah Wallace, from the UQ School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, has been awarded a Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration (DCRC) pilot grant to improve conversations about aged care.
The $75,000 funding will be used to develop a set of resources to help people living with dementia to engage in important conversations about their care and support.
“People with dementia often experience changes to their communication,” Dr Wallace said.
“Over time, it may become difficult to have a conversation, share feelings, or let someone know that something is wrong.
“My research will help people with dementia to have these important conversations about their care.
“Using a method called experience-based co-design, I will work in partnership with people with dementia, their families, carers, and health professionals.
“Drawing on their experiences, we will co-design a set of free resources to help people with dementia provide feedback, make complaints, and engage in important conversations about care.”
Dr Wallace said the recent Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety demonstrated the great need for this research.
“More than half of people who receive aged care services have dementia,” she said.
“The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety has exposed shocking stories of poor care, abuse, and neglect.
“This is very concerning for people with dementia, as they are at greater risk of abuse and may also have trouble communicating that something is wrong.
“We need to find the best ways to help people with dementia to provide feedback, make complaints, and have conversations about their care, and my research will do this.”
Dr Wallace’s project entitled ‘Improving conversations about care through experience-based co-design’, is one of seven projects to receive DCRC funding to conduct ground-breaking dementia research
