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www.alzheimers2013.com
The garden has provided a way of retaining
some aspects of earlier lifestyles for the
ageing community and provides a variety of
experiences including increased sensory,
physical and emotional stimuli. Evidence
is emerging that the garden environment
provides a calming effect and reduces
agitation. Residents with dementia, no matter
how significant, are responding positively.
Residents have access to fresh nutritious food
and are gaining a sense of achievement from
meaningful and productive activities.
Potential for further research, education,
community links and interdisciplinary studies
has been identified. The implications of these
activities are that this will lead to an improved
lifestyle for residents and others.
Chancellor 7
n
cReaTIVITY
dRamatHERaPy WitH OldER PEOPlE
WitH dEmENtia - dOEs it imPROvE
quality OF liFE?
Joanna Jaaniste
University of Western Sydney
Shameran Slewa-Younan
University of Western Sydney
This research is presented to demonstrate
that dramatherapy is a promising treatment
for enhancing the Quality of Life (QoL) of
people with dementia. A two-arm study was
conducted, using a mixed method approach
to evaluate the effect of drama therapy on
the QoL of a small number of elderly people
with mild and moderate dementia, principally
Alzheimer's Disease (AD), living in the
community, over a period of five months. The
dramatherapy group was compared with a
group whose participants watched films over
the same period. The research was conducted
at Alzheimer's Australia, Ryde and Newcastle.
Members of each group were assessed pre
and post sixteen group meetings. A secondary
aim was to establish an evidence-based
evaluation of the use of drama therapy with
people with dementia, as opposed to the less
expressive, more passive activity of film-
watching. Carers were also involved in the
assessment process, although the scoring of
the scale used, the Quality of Life, Alzheimer's
Disease (QOLAD), is weighted in favour of
the persons with dementia. Although not
statistically significant, the drama therapy
group achieved a higher score than the movie-
watching group.
This paper includes certain qualitative findings
of the study, using phenomenological
approach. The Creative-Expressive Abilities
Assessment (CEAA) was also applied to the
dramatherapy group, where observations were
made after each session. Triangulation was
used in the examination of both types of data
and the presentation of findings. Further work
is recommended with greater numbers to
evaluate the dramatherapy impact on quality of
life (QoL) in this population.
(The substance of this paper is also in press
with The Arts in Psychotherapy Journal, USA.)
Grand Ballroom 3
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RehaBILITaTION
viCtORiaN iNdigENOus COgNitivE
imPaiRmENt sCREENiNg tOOl
study
John Price
Service Access Liaison Officer Aboriginal/
Consultancy, Alzheimer's Australia Vic
The prevalence of dementia in Indigenous
communities in rural and remote areas of
Western Australia is 12.4 percent in people 45
years and over, a rate nearly five times higher
than the general Australian population. What
the rates of dementia are in Indigenous people