University of South Australia
Dr. Daria Gutteridge is a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of South Australia (UniSA) where she focuses on the quality use of medicines in Australian aged care facilities, working on the MRFF-funded Pharmacists Actioning Rational use of Medicines in Aged Care (PHARMA-Care) project. At the end of 2023, Daria completed her PhD in the field of Psychology (Cognitive Neuroscience) at UniSA, at the Cognitive Ageing and Impairment Neuroscience Lab. Daria’s PhD showed the clinical importance of blood pressure variability as a dementia risk factor in older adults. Daria is passionate about improving cardiovascular health and aged care services to advance the quality of life and health outcomes in older adults.
Optimising antihypertensive treatment in older Australians with and without dementia in residential care homes
This project will identify key areas for improving the use of medications to lower blood pressure in people with and without dementia living in residential care homes, with the overall aim of improving residents’ health and wellbeing. With little national information about how blood pressure is managed in older adults in residential care settings, this project will provide much-needed insights into blood pressure treatment (including under treatment and over-treatment) and clinical data that is routinely collected during government-funded medication reviews conducted by pharmacists in aged care homes.
Award: $10,000
University of Canberra
Robyn Lewis is a PhD candidate in the Centre for Ageing Research and Translation, University of Canberra. Robyn’s research focuses on models of dementia care, specifically small-scale residential dementia care. She is hoping that her research will contribute to making a difference to the quality of life for people living with dementia, reduce burden for care-partners and improve the experience of staff working in dementia care. Robyn's PhD is funded by Community Home Australia. Previously, Robyn worked as a high school teacher, senior manager in the ACT public service and recently, a yoga teacher in community, aged care, corporate, school, and correctional settings.
The Experience of Living and Working in Small-scale Residential Dementia Care
Small-scale care is an innovative approach to person-centred care for people impacted by dementia where a small number of people (usually less than 15) live in a homelike setting that can be stand-alone or co-located with other models of residential care or services in a home, unit, apartment, village, or farm. The project is designed to explore the characteristics and operations of small-scale care from the perspective of key staff and managers to understand the experience of living and working in these settings and investigate the philosophy, policy and organisational features of the included settings to understand the experience of care from the perspective of people with dementia, their families and staff
Award: $9,996.47
The University of Queensland
Wei Qi Koh is a Lecturer in Occupational Therapy at the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland. In her clinical practice, she has worked in acute and community health and social care settings primarily with older adults. She held a Marie-Sklodowska Curie Fellowship from 2019-2022 where she worked within an international consortium to conduct research on the use of various technology to support people living with dementia. She was awarded her PhD in 2023, which focused on evaluating the impacts of low-cost pet robots and developing strategies to support the implementation of pet robots in aged care for people living with dementia.
Co-designing a pet robot to support people living with dementia
Research has revealed that robotic pets can have a positive impact on people with dementia living in residential aged care, including reducing agitation and improving mood and social interaction. However, the designs of existing pet robots have been largely driven by roboticists and researchers. This study aims to design an affordable pet robot in partnership with consumers. Based on consumer feedback, a prototype pet robot will be developed that caters for the needs and preferences of residents with dementia, their carers and health professionals to maximise potential therapeutic impact. The study will provide a springboard for future research, where the prototype will be refined and improved through interactive consumer feedback and evaluation.
Monash University
Shin is a pharmacist and research fellow at the Centre for Medicine Use and Safety (CMUS) at Monash University. Her research focuses on optimising medication management for frail older populations, including community-dwelling individuals with dementia and aged care residents. Driven by a passion for enhancing the quality use of medicines, she aims to advance ageing research by reducing unnecessary and potentially inappropriate medication use, thereby mitigating medication-related harms in older Australians. In addition to her research, Shin serves as Chair of AAG’s Victorian Student and Early Career Group and as a member of the Australian Deprescribing Network (ADeN) committee.
Principles for optimising medicines management in older people living with frailty and dementia
Ensuring optimal medicines management in people living with frailty and dementia is complex. A set of principles has been recently developed to improve medicines management in people with frailty and dementia. However, these principles were developed by healthcare professionals without input from people living with frailty and dementia, their carers, and families (consumers). The findings may guide tailored patient care and prioritise research in areas most meaningful to consumers, leading to future research to develop a checklist for healthcare professionals to optimise care delivery, as well as may influence the development of education curriculum, clinical practice guidelines, and healthcare policy.