The Royal Melbourne Hospital hosted MARC’s 2nd Dementia Forum, ‘A Road to Transforming Dementia Care’ on 2nd October 2018.  Keynote presenters Dr Maree Farrow, Dr Helen Courtney Pratt, and Dr Lyn Goldberg from the University of Tasmania Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre set the scene by showcasing the diverse range of projects being conducted at the Centre.

They covered areas in understanding dementia and preventing dementia through massive open online courses (MOOCs), leveraging existing strengths to build dementia friendly communities, and improving the lives of people with dementia through oral health care screening, and qualifying Aboriginal Health workers.

Dr Imogen Clark, a Music Therapist from the University of Melbourne, also provided a detailed background on the importance of utilising music therapy for people with dementia and how it can improve and support higher quality relationships.

Dr Anita Panayiotou, NARI Research Fellow, presented the results from MARC’s Preventing Avoidable Hospital Admissions project which explored the reasons for emergency department presentations in people living with dementia, attitudes and current practices of healthcare staff working with those with dementia, and exploring the effectiveness of interventions targeted towards family carers at reducing avoidable hospitalisation in people living with dementia.  Joanne Tropea, Program Manager Melbourne EpiCentre, shared the results of MARC’s pilot study that delivered a structured support program called START to carers of people living with dementia via videoconferencing.

45 attendees from 13 of MARC partner organisations spent the afternoon discussing current challenges and potential solutions to improve the care of people living with dementia.  These creative and diverse ideas will be collated and presented to the MARC Steering Committee to shape the next research project funded by MARC.