Whiddon Launches Innovative New Dementia Microlearning Program: Furthers Commitment to Transform Care for People Living with Dementia
This Dementia Action Week, Whiddon will launch a new industry-leading evidence-based learning program, aiming to bolster workforce education to support best practice care for residents living with dementia.
8 September 2023
Strengthening Whiddon’s commitment to the delivery of industry-leading dementia care, the award-winning care provider will proudly launch a new Dementia Microlearning Program on the 18th of September.
The program has been funded by Aged Care Research & Industry Innovation Australia (ARIIA) in partnership with Flinders University, and aims to build a practical, research-led blueprint for addressing Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD).
One of seven care providers participating in the program roll-out, Whiddon is the only residential home care provider based in New South Wales to implement the program’s tailored micro-learning model. The twelve-week Dementia Care Microlearning Program implementation will see two thousand members of Whiddon’s dedicated care teams, including Registered Nurses, Assistants in Nursing, Community Care and Support Services employees along with ancillary support staff participate and follows four successful pilot trials in June and July this year.
The evidence-based Dementia Microlearning Program utlises the award-winning Forget Me Not ® mobile learning application to deliver practical, digestible, and consistent five-minute learning activities on topics aged care workers find challenging when delivering dementia care. A recent study was conducted by the Aged Care Workforce Industry Council to pilot microlearning for aged care workers and found 91% agreed that they liked the microlearning spaced repetition approach to training and 82% agreed they found it more productive than one long eLearning module.
With an emphasis on an encouraging ‘coaching’ approach, the micro-learning modules are adaptable to meet the individual needs of workers to holistically improve competence, wellbeing, and self-confidence in care practices. The repetition of micro-learning content, delivered through the spaced repetition Forget Me Not application, recognises the importance of the consistent and practical scenario-based application of clinical information within a dementia care setting.
“As the way we care for people living with dementia continues to mature, evidence-based strategies that support residents and clients to maximise their quality of life, remain paramount. At Whiddon, we believe initiatives such as the Dementia Microlearning Program which evolve traditional methods of dementia education, have the potential to transform the way we approach dementia care,” said Alyson Jarett, Deputy CEO of Whiddon.
An estimated 400,000 Australians are currently living with dementia, with the prevalence of the disease expected to grow exponentially to reach over 800,000 Australians diagnosed by 2058. Across Whiddon’s 23 Residential Aged Care (RAC) homes in New South Wales and Southeast Queensland, 50 per cent of residents have received a dementia diagnosis.
A 2022 Aged Care Research & Industry Innovation Australia (ARIIA) survey nominated dementia as a priority topic for the sector. A reliance on pharmacological responses have created a barrier to best practice dementia care with non-pharmacological responses used infrequently or inconsistently due to lack of workforce knowledge. It is hoped the micro learning-program will provide valuable insights for frontline Responsive Behaviour management.
Alyson continues, “With many of our Whiddon residents living with dementia, we identify employee education in dementia care as a priority. This ensures that all our team understand the disease and its impact. This, combined with our relationship-based care approach, focus on suitable environments, and a culture of learning and reflective practice, ensure we can best support people living with dementia in our care.”
Whiddon proudly places relationships at the heart of great care with their award-winning MyLife model. The MyLife model integrates care for residents social, emotional, and physical needs and is underpinned by a strong relational approach where care staff build meaningful relationships to deliver better outcomes and highly personalised care.
The real-world impact of the MyLife model and potential of the Dementia Microlearning Program at Whiddon becomes evident through the lived experience of Registered Nurse and Deputy Director of Care Services Dale Feeney. At Whiddon Laurieton on the NSW mid-north coast, Dale cares for residents with Dementia in the dedicated Memory Support Home. At home, Dale is also the carer for her husband Peter, who was diagnosed with Dementia in 2019.
Dale spoke to her personal and professional experience with Dementia:
“What I’ve learned most is that this is not the end for Peter. Dementia does not mean the end of life. There are still adventures to be had, life to be lived. It’s how we support people to achieve this and to be positive about it in the process.”
The timely launch of the Dementia Microlearning Program at Whiddon also coincides with Dementia Action Week, 18th to 24th September 2023. This year’s theme Act Now for a Dementia-Friendly Future encourages communities to take action to develop a greater understanding of the disease to reduce stigma and discrimination experienced by people living with dementia and their carers.
About Whiddon
Whiddon is an award-winning care provider with residential care, community care and retirement villages across metropolitan, regional, rural, and remote New South Wales and Southeast Queensland.
Whiddon has been providing exceptional care to older Australians and people with disabilities for more than 75 years, and has grown to be an industry-leading, not-for-profit aged care organisation caring for close to 3,000 customers with over 2,500 employees.
Whiddon is passionate about enriching lives and keeping older people connected to what matters most to them in life. The organisation aims to really understand each person through building deep relationships with them, their family, and their community. Whiddon proudly partners with academics and universities that are developing the latest thinking, innovation, programs, and training around quality of life and ageing.
