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Dean of UOW’s Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences...
Dean of UOW’s Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, Professor Patrick Crookes (centre) pictured at the national dementia workshop with Professor John Keady, Professor of Older People’s Mental Health Nursing at the University of Manchester/Bolton and Associate Professor Vicki Traynor of UOW’s School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health
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Wollongong hosts national dementia workshop
24 Jul 2007 | Bernie Goldie
Wollongong today (Tuesday 24 July) conducted its first National Dementia Training Study Centre (DTSC) Workshop hosted by UOW’s School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health which leads a partnership of four academic institutions and four industry partners known as the Eastern Australia Dementia Training and Study Centre.
All four DTSCs in the Department of Health and Ageing’s National DTSC Project have presenters at the workshop, meaning that dementia training taking place in all Australian states and territories will be showcased.
Overall, more than 7,500 health professionals around Australia are currently benefiting from specialised tertiary dementia training and scholarships under an $8.36 million Federal Government project.
UOW received $3.6 million from the total funding pool to set up the Eastern Australia Dementia Training and Study Centre which services NSW, ACT and Queensland. There are also DTSCs in Victoria and Tasmania, Central and South Australia and Western Australia.
The Dean of UOW’s Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, Professor Patrick Crookes, said the establishment of the study centres provide a huge boost for dementia training across the whole of Australia.
“I am privileged to have been asked to co-ordinate this national project as it will, I am sure, make a difference in the ways in which people living with dementia and their carers are cared for,” Professor Crookes said.
The national project aims to develop and promote undergraduate and postgraduate dementia curricula and training resources and offers a number of dementia-specific scholarships. Nurses, medical students, medical specialists, social workers, diversional therapists and psychologists are among the professionals who are benefiting from the program across the nation.
Among the workshop participants is a guest visitor to Australia, Professor John Keady who is an internationally renowned professor of dementia nursing. He is the Professor of Older People’s Mental Health Nursing at the University of Manchester/Bolton. He is the founding and co-editor of the journal, ‘Dementia: the international journal of social research and practice’.
He is meeting staff in the Illawarra in relation to showcasing their work through this publication and is presenting a public lecture at UOW’s Graduate School of Medicine.
Facts and Figures: 10 facts about Dementia from Alzheimer’s Australia
It is estimated that in 2006, more than 210,000 Australians had a diagnosis of dementia.
Dementia also affects the lives of nearly 1,000,000 Australians who are involved in caring for a family member or friend with dementia.
In Australia there were an estimated 54,000 new cases of dementia in 2006.
There are more than 70 diseases that cause dementia.
Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause of dementia, accounts for between 50% and 70% of all cases; the second most common form is vascular dementia, which may be preventable.
While the risk of dementia increases with age, dementia is not a natural part of ageing.
The average rate of moderate to severe dementia among Australians is about one in 15 aged 65+. Among people aged 80 to 84 the rate is one in nine, and among those aged 85+ it is one in four.
Dementia can affect younger people; currently over 9, 600 Australians under the age of 65 have early onset dementia.
With the ageing of Australia's population, we can expect a significant increase in the numbers of people affected by dementia - including carers - within the next few decades. By 2050, it is projected that 730, 000 people will have a diagnosis of dementia unless there is a medical breakthrough.
Between 2000 and 2050, the number of people with dementia in Australia is expected to increase by 327%, while the total population increases by less than 40%.
Alzheimer’s Australia Dementia Facts at a Glance Sydney: AA [Available online at http://www.alzheimers.org.au/upload/DementiaAtAGlanceFebruary2006.pdf Accessed Match 2007]
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