{"id":14280,"date":"2020-09-22T10:00:45","date_gmt":"2020-09-22T00:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/?p=14280"},"modified":"2020-09-22T09:38:41","modified_gmt":"2020-09-21T23:38:41","slug":"dementia-action-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/2020\/09\/22\/dementia-action-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Improving quality of life for people living with dementia and their families"},"content":{"rendered":"

R<\/span>esearch has shown that social robots can help improve the quality of life\u00a0<\/span>for people with deme<\/span>ntia and their family care<\/span>rs<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>For\u00a0<\/span>Dementia Action Week<\/span><\/a>, 21-27 September, we look at how social robots can help in dementia care.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dementia Australia<\/span><\/a>\u00a0estimates<\/span>\u00a0that<\/span>\u00a0t<\/span>here\u00a0<\/span>are\u00a0<\/span>459,000 Australians living with dementia\u00a0<\/span>in 2020,\u00a0<\/span>and almost 1.6 million people in Australia are involved in the care of someone living with dementia.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Professor Wendy Moyle<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Menzies Health Institute<\/span>\u00a0Queensland<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>has led ground<\/span>–<\/span>breaking research to explore\u00a0<\/span>the effectiveness of social robot<\/span>s<\/span>, in particular telepresence robots and companion robots, to reduce behavioural and psychological symptoms in dementia:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span><\/i>When I first started doing this work people thought\u00a0<\/span><\/i>that\u00a0<\/span><\/i>this was dehumanising<\/span><\/i>, they<\/span><\/i>\u00a0didn\u2019t like the thought\u00a0<\/span><\/i>that\u00a0<\/span><\/i>we were using robots to<\/span><\/i>\u00a0work with people with dementia.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>Having dementia is very challenging for family members. They often say to me, things like\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u2018<\/span><\/i>this person is not the person who I know<\/span><\/i>\u2019<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span><\/i>I am very motivated by families when they call me and tell me how delighted they are to use one of our robots. The t<\/span><\/i>ele<\/span><\/i>presence robots<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>are so beneficial because they enable family to visit remotely, they can be there 7 days a week<\/span><\/i>,<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>where<\/span><\/i>as\u00a0<\/span><\/i>they wouldn\u2019t\u00a0<\/span><\/i>have been\u00a0<\/span><\/i>able to do that if they were working or didn\u2019t live locally<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/i>\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Due to our aging population,\u00a0<\/span>we have\u00a0<\/span>a\u00a0<\/span>limited number of\u00a0<\/span>aged-care professionals\u00a0<\/span>or carers<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Social robots help people with dementia to stay in the community and out of\u00a0<\/span>aged<\/span>–<\/span>care<\/span>\u00a0for longer.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Professor Moyle\u2019s research\u00a0<\/span>is<\/span>\u00a0at the cutting-edge of\u00a0<\/span>social robotics exploration and has led to invitations to contribute to the development of new te<\/span>chnologies in the UK and Japan.\u00a0<\/span>Since\u00a0<\/span>2019<\/span>, Professor Moyle\u00a0<\/span>has<\/span>\u00a0led the\u00a0<\/span>Australian Aged Care Technologies Collaborative<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(AACTC)<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0based at Griffith University<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>The AACTC<\/span>\u00a0brings together an interdisciplinary group of academics, industry partners and end-users\u00a0<\/span>in<\/span>\u00a0the first Australian collaborative dedicated to technologies within aged care services in acute care, residential care and community areas.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Given\u00a0<\/span>there is no cure for dementia<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Professor Moyle\u00a0<\/span>and her team are\u00a0<\/span>driven to improve quality of life<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>for\u00a0<\/span>people living with\u00a0<\/span>dementia and their families.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Online survey for\u00a0<\/span><\/b>COVID-19\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Due to<\/span>\u00a0the COVID-19\u00a0<\/span>restrictions\u00a0<\/span>many older people<\/span>, including people with dementia and their\u00a0<\/span>carers<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>have been separated from their families and friends.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I<\/span>n cooperation with\u00a0<\/span>u<\/span>niversities<\/span>\u00a0in the UK, Poland and Italy<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Professor Moyle and her team\u00a0<\/span>are looking into the effects of\u00a0<\/span>COVID-19 related social service closures on the lives of older people, people with dementia and informal carers in Australia<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Currently\u00a0<\/span>they\u00a0<\/span>are looking for volunteers<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span>share their\u00a0<\/span>experiences during lockdown and\u00a0<\/span>to provide insight into\u00a0<\/span>how\u00a0<\/span>lockdown has\u00a0<\/span>affected\u00a0<\/span>their\u00a0<\/span>everyday life.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Access\u00a0<\/span>their<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>online survey<\/span><\/a>\u00a0t<\/span>o<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>learn\u00a0<\/span>more<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>to\u00a0<\/span>participate<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>World-leading research<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Discover\u00a0<\/span>more about\u00a0<\/span>social robots and dementia\u00a0<\/span>through our open access research on\u00a0<\/span>Griffith Research Online<\/span><\/a>:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n