A collaborative effort between Uniting NSW.ACT and UNSW Sydney’s Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA) has garnered international recognition for their research on dementia care.
Their paper, “Improving Healthcare Quality and Clinical Outcomes for Persons with Dementia in the Sub-Acute Hospital Through Person-Centered Care Practice,” published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, demonstrated the significant positive impact of person-centred intervention on dementia care.
Led by Dr Lynn Chenoweth from UNSW, the study involved 67 in-patients at Uniting’s War Memorial Hospital, along with their carers, clinicians, and researchers.
Over 13 months, 90 hospital staff received person-centred education, leading to improved clinical outcomes for patients.
Donna McCade, a clinical psychologist, highlights the importance of treating individuals holistically, considering their unique backgrounds, beliefs, and values.
“The person-centred care model was designed to assist clinical staff in knowing how to meet the holistic healthcare needs of persons living with dementia, including who they are as people, their beliefs, values, culture, religion and everything else that matters to them”
Donna McCade
The approach received high praise from both patients and carers, with “Sue” expressing gratitude for the personalised support she received at the hospital.
This recognition underscores the importance of person-centred care in improving patient outcomes and experiences. The study’s findings highlight the value of implementing such models across healthcare disciplines, signalling a promising shift towards more empathetic and effective dementia care practices.
The paper will be published in the March issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
