Independence for dementia patients

An early intervention program, assisting older people affected by dementia to maximise their ability to function independently in the community, will begin late next year.

Western Australia aged and community care provider, Silver Chain, in collaboration with the Centre for Research on Ageing at Curtin University and Alzheimer’s Australia WA, will modify and extend the Home Independent Program (HIP) to ensure it is “specifically designed for people with early dementia”.

The funding, provided by Consumers and Carers Dementia Collaborative Research Centre, will also be used to develop training to enable staff to deliver the program as designed.

Silver Chain’s research director, Professor Gill Lewin, says past HIP research reveals the program benefits people experiencing early memory loss.

“This, together with the building evidence regarding the success of early interventions in assisting people with dementia to maintain their independence for longer, is the basis of us developing HIP-D,” Professor Lewin says.

Assisting individuals to maintain independence for longer may reduce the burden placed on family and carers, while possibly delaying entry into residential care.

According to Silver Chain, HIP is best suited to people who have never had services before, those needing assistance to be more independent at home or older people who are starting to have difficulty managing their own activities at home.

 Activities involved in the program include:

• Learning new ways of approaching personal and daily activities that have become more difficult, so that you can manage your own activities without the need for assistance.
• Using equipment that can assist with personal care and day to day activities.
• Safely regaining confidence with managing day to day tasks, especially after a fall or an
• illness.
• Learning how to reduce the risk of falling, both at home and outside.
• Providing a home exercise program that helps to improve strength, balance and increases overall physical activity levels.
• Education about healthy and successful ageing.
• Looking into community based activities that suit your individual interests.

A rigorous evaluation of the service and client will be implemented over the next two years to ensure the service remains effective for clients, families and carers. More information on HIP-D will be released as the project progresses.