Around 60,000 Australians are diagnosed with dementia each year. Dementia is outpacing cancer as the most feared disease. Many people feel overwhelmed when first diagnosed with dementia. They despair of their future, lose hope and don’t know what to do next.
People newly diagnosed are often not ‘ready’ for traditional aged care services following diagnosis, but need information to help them come to terms with the diagnosis, better manage day-to-day symptoms and have hope.
Research studies show that many medical practitioners have difficulty locating or recommending effective post-diagnostic support for their patients.
Forward with Dementia is a new evidence-based program co-designed with people living with dementia, carers and health professionals to provide effective, tailored support for the 12 months following a dementia diagnosis.
The website is divided into three sections, tailored for people with dementia, carers and health professionals. Each section includes easy-to-navigate articles with relevant information, tools and practical actions to help people move forward following a diagnosis. There are inspirational stories about how others managed their symptoms to overcome stigma and live positively with dementia, and news items on new dementia drugs, driving (or giving up driving) and more. All pages are downloadable and printable.
Bill Yeats, a person living with younger onset dementia, said, ‘I wish I had this [website] when I was first diagnosed. It would have given me hope, and the information and support I needed to cope and plan for the future.’
Resources for health professionals
On the health professional page, you’ll find short, practical articles, educational videos, links to webinars, a diagnostic conversation checklist and other tools to help you deliver post-diagnostic support and meet current clinical guidelines.
Tools and promotional resources can be downloaded and printed from the website or you can order printed resources for your clinic.
Get involved and improve outcomes for patients and families
- Refer your patients to the website.
- Use the health professional portal and resources. Watch webinars about communication of dementia diagnosis and evidence-based interventions.
- Print or order resources for your clinic.
- Follow Forward with Dementia on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Sign up to receive the monthly newsletter and provide feedback to help them improve.
Forward with Dementia is the work of the COGNISANCE project and was jointly planned and developed by leading researchers from the Universities of NSW, Sydney and Wollongong with colleagues from Canada, the Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom. Key collaborators include Dementia Australia, Dementia Alliance International, Alzheimer’s Disease International and the World Health Organization.
The Forward with Dementia program was funded by the NHMRC and the European Union Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research, a global research initiative aimed at tackling the challenge of neurodegenerative diseases.
Contact
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 02 9065 7307
Visit HealthPathways to learn about Dementia and Cognitive Impairment.
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