Caring for Aboriginal clients with dementia in residential aged care

 Improving the care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with dementia who live in urban areas is one of the National Priority Areas for the WA Dementia Training Study Centre (WA DTSC). The WA DTSC has worked toward developing a unique resource that facilitates culturally appropriate care for Aboriginal people with dementia in residential aged care. This new resource has the potential to impact positively on the quality of life of Aboriginal people living with dementia through better residential care.

Initially, a partnership with Hall & Prior Aged Care and Aboriginal artist Ron Gidgup produced three artworks at the Windsor Park Aged Care Home, along with an accompanying documentary film, Nungoo ngich Dunga ngich (See me, Hear me). Aboriginal residents and their families helped create the three murals representing their stories; men’s stories, women’s stories and community.

In Stage Two of the project, an Aboriginal Advisory Group, oversaw development of a cultural assessment tool The tool will assist residential aged care staff to identify cultural considerations including kinship roles, connection to country and life experiences of Aboriginal residents. The ‘Cultural Assessment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People’ tool is designed to be completed by the nursing home healthcare team, in consultation with the Aboriginal person with dementia, their family and close kin. It is supported by a number of accompanying training resources, including the See Me, Hear Me documentary.

Professional development workshops introducing the suite of resources will be piloted across Australia from December, 2015 to April 2016.  Following the pilot, the resource will be available from the DTSC website.

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For further information about the project, contact WA DTSC