into content and rebranding it Dementia Care
Resource and Training Network (DCRTN).
developed in partnership with NSW Dementia
Clinical Nurse Consultants', Dementia
Collaborative Research Centres, Alzheimer's
Australia and USA and University of Newcastle.
It is endorsed by Royal College of Nursing,
Australian Association of Social Workers and
Royal College of Mental Health Nurses.
facilitated and provides an excellent platform
for education delivery for NSW Health staff
working in metropolitan, rural and remote
locations. The course is accessible online 24/7
and is free to NSW Health staff. Nursing and
Allied Health clinicians actively contribute to
the course through participation in forums and
online chats.
highlights partnerships developed between
Health and academia, intended new modules,
and plans to roll the program out across
Australia.
the needs of metropolitan, rural and remote
clinicians by taking a positive approach to care
of the person with dementia.
Justin Walls, Andrew Robinson,
James Vickers
Understanding Dementia, a Massive Open
Online Course (MOOC) aimed at providing free
scale. The unique 11 week curriculum will
focus on building a broad understanding to
assist the global effort to establish quality of
life across the trajectory of dementia. The
content will explore the current scientific
research underlying the illnesses that cause
dementia, risk factors, disease diagnosis
and progression, as well as management
strategies, therapeutic approaches and
palliation. Drawing upon the expertise of
Neuroscientists, Clinicians and Dementia Care
Professionals at the University of Tasmania and
Wicking Dementia Research and Education
Centre, the course will address the crucial
link between the biology of dementia and the
physical, behavioural and personality changes
that characterise the condition. Understanding
Dementia, available to anyone with internet
access and basic computer literacy skills, will
utilise an innovative delivery framework, where
participants will learn from engagement with
dementia experts, as well as the wealth of
knowledge and experiences brought to the
course through the peer network. The course
is designed to be engaging, accessible and
broadly appealing to people from diverse
backgrounds, with the potential to articulate
into further study such as the Associate
Degree in Dementia Care (University of
Tasmania). In the face of a global dementia
epidemic, Understanding Dementia aims to
address the knowledge gap for those facing
care decisions and, through the facility of rich
global networking opportunities, an enabling
environment for engagement with this major
international health issue.