Dementia can affect elderly people, their
familes, carers, and health care
professionals - and the wider community.
Image: courtesy of La Trobe University

Australia’s aged population will benefit from more than $6 million for dementia research and education involving La Trobe University as a result of new grants announced last week by the Department of Health and Ageing.

Director of University’s Institute for Social Participation and Head of the Australian Centre for Evidence Based Aged Care (ACEBAC), Professor Rhonda Nay, says $2 million will extend the work of the Victorian and Tasmania’s Dementia Training Study Centre (DTSC) based on La Trobe’s Bundoora campus.

The La Trobe-led DTSC – one of five in Australia – carries out education, training and doctoral research in collaboration with Monash University, Alzheimer’s Australia (Vic & Tas), Bundoora Extended Care Centre, the National Ageing Research Institute, Bendigo Health, St Vincent’s Health and the Universities of Melbourne and Tasmania.
It promotes dementia studies in graduate and undergraduate curriculum and provides dementia career pathways for health professionals.

Professor Nay says that for the past three years the DTSC has increased the capacity, skills and knowledge of more than 2,000 health professionals who provide care for people living with dementia and for their families. It has also provided four doctoral scholarships to study critical issues related to ageing.

La Trobe University will also receive a share of a further $4.1million dollars awarded to the Dementia Collaborative Research Centre (DCRC), led by Queensland University of Technology, of which La Trobe University is a partner. The DCRC conducts research which focuses on carers and consumers.
Announcing the new funding, Minister for Ageing Justine Elliot said the longevity of Australians brings with it greater possibility of dementia and related illnesses. ‘The increasing prevalence of dementia requires us to examine new and innovative approaches to improve dementia diagnosis, prevention and care,’ she said.

Professor Nay says ACEBAC staff work continuously to improve the quality of aged care, through interdisciplinary models of practice delivery and increased clinical effectiveness. They also review and evaluate the impact of existing practices on health and social outcomes in aged care.