Ask Annie won the Business Technology category in the 2022 Future of Ageing Awards.
Updated: 8th April 2022: Ask Annie, now available for individual download for all aged care workers, with three modules, including 22 lessons gifted to support the aged care sector. Download for free here!
With the support of Gandel Foundation, Dementia Australia’s Ask Annie is a mobile app that offers short, self-paced learning modules to help care workers refresh their skills and learn tips and tools to provide better care to people living with dementia.
With the support of Gandel Philanthropy, Dementia Australia has launched an innovative mobile app that improves the quality of care for people living with dementia by building the skills of home support and community care workers.
Ask Annie is a mobile app that offers short, self-paced learning modules to help home support and community care workers refresh their skills and learn tips and techniques to provide better care to people living with dementia. For further information on the app and to obtain a free trial…
‘Annie’ is a virtual tool for community care workers providing dementia care in the home. Annie guides users through a range of scenarios, based on real-life experiences, to strengthen their dementia care skills.
Dementia Australia CEO Maree McCabe AM said Ask Annie was designed in collaboration with community care workers.
“The app is an easy to use, convenient training tool, able to be purchased by provider organisations as a multi-license package for their staff to access anywhere and anytime,” Ms McCabe said.
“Once the team member signs up to the app, Annie is there to provide encouragement, tips and to offer ongoing training that is accessible whenever the care worker wants to schedule in a quick 10 or 15-minute check-in – across the country,” Ms McCabe said.
“There are more than 130,000 people working in-home support and community care across Australia, and they play a vital role for people living with dementia, their families, and carers.
“With almost half a million Australians living with dementia – which is projected to increase to 1.1 million people by 2058 – our community needs a greater focus on quality dementia care and ensuring continued training and support is available for the workforce.”
Ask Annie was developed by Dementia Australia with Deakin University’s Applied Artificial Intelligence Institute (A²I²), thanks to the generous support of Gandel Philanthropy.
Gandel Philanthropy CEO Vedran Drakulic OAM said Ask Annie showcases how technology can be applied to improve dementia education and aged care in Australia.
“Ask Annie provides workers in the aged care industry with the opportunity to receive dementia-specific training that is practical, accessible and flexible enough to fit into their demanding days,” Mr Drakulic said.
“The vision for Ask Annie was to create a unique and immersive learning experience that directly leads to learning outcomes that can be translated into everyday practice.
“Gandel Philanthropy is proud to partner with Dementia Australia to launch Ask Annie, and to further develop online learning experiences that lead to better care for people living with dementia.”
BlueCross General Manager Bridget Howes believes Ask Annie will significantly help home support and community care workers develop their skills and improve care for people living with dementia.
“Ask Annie can help to strengthen the skills of our team so that they can be even better carers for people living with dementia,” Ms Howes said.
“The fact that it’s accessible on a mobile phone and for our home carers, on the tablets they use at work, makes it really convenient too. It means that, for example, if one of our home carers has questions about how to care for a client living with dementia, like mealtimes or showering, they could take a few minutes before they arrive at their home to brush up on some tips that could help alleviate any challenges that may arise in the situation.”
“After a quick refresher, they would feel more equipped and empowered to better support the person in their care.”
For further information on the app and to obtain a free trial…
Entries for the 2023 Future of Ageing Awards open May 1, 2023 – For further information.
Thanks to those companies who have shown their support for the awards through a partnership. They are listed below:
