Funding for digital stories in aged care project

The life stories and preferences of people living with dementia in aged care facilities will be recorded as part of a project to help provide them with more personalised care and support.

The project will educate healthcare students to conduct reminiscence sessions with individuals living with dementia in residential aged care. The students will then produce a 4-minute life story video and a poster to capture the resident’s identity and preferences. The video will be accessible through a QR code on the poster.

The research team will compare this approach with usual care to find out if the life story videos help aged care and health staff understand more about the resident so they can provide personalised care and support.

The four-year, $1.35m Medical Research Future Fund Dementia Ageing and Aged Care Grant has been awarded to a team of researchers from the Australian National University (ANU), Swinburne University of Technology, the University of Sydney, the University of Wollongong, the University of Queensland and Southern NSW Local Health District (SNSWLHD).

Professor Victoria Traynor from University of Wollongong’s (UOW) School of Nursing is leading the UOW effort on the project. “Having national funding to undertake research with two of our local aged care providers is an excellent opportunity to showcase partnerships across UOW campuses that make a difference. It has long been known that life story work improves the quality of care for individuals with dementia. 

“This project is extending the impact of life stories through contemporary approaches. This project uses the untapped potential of digital media and the perspectives of young people to showcase life stories like never before,” Traynor said.

The study evolved from longstanding partnerships with consumer researchers as well as aged care providers: Sapphire Coast Community Aged Care and Warrigal. Advice on translating the project into usual practice will be provided by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care.

Chief Investigator Dr Katrina Anderson from the Aged Care Evaluation Unit (ANU and SNSWLHD) said, “This project was born out of our clinical experience in aged care homes where time-pressured care staff often have little information about the person behind the disease when individuals living with dementia first relocate to residential care.

“Sometimes a small piece of information about the resident’s life can help staff to head off distressing interactions; knowing that someone has a fear of dogs, for example, can change the activities offered to that person.”

Consumer researcher Elaine Todd said, “If they had had something like this when my mother was in care, it would have made the world of difference.”

More than 50% of residents in aged care homes currently have some form of cognitive impairment, usually dementia.

These people often enter care with little warning and may transition rapidly between the care home and hospitals. It is hoped that the short videos will assist staff in any setting to quickly get to know the person with dementia and what works for them.

Image caption: Professor Victoria Traynor from the University of Wollongong's (UOW) School of Nursing. Image courtesy of UOW.