What is Ageing by Caring Pty Ltd?
When an old man dies – a library burns down- African proverb
Ageing by caring is a small “boutique” aged care consultancy which has been successfully running for over ten years. In that time the emphasis has been on the delivery of quality services around education and training, facilitation, project management and evaluation and research…all as it relates to ageing, aged care and living with dementia.
Download a PDF here [PDF, 20kb] of Sharons CV
I have treasured working collaboratively with other consultants and organisations in Australia and overseas to provide the necessary blending of skills for individualised and specialised approaches to projects.
Some areas of particular interest and current projects that I am committed to include the following:
The Koori Growing Old Well Study and
The Koori Dementia Care Project
It should be no survey without service – Dr Fred Hollows
I have recently accepted a position to project manage the Koori Dementia Care Project (KDCP) This project (funded by Ageing Disability and Home Care) aims to translate the knowledge gained from the Koori Growing Old Well study into practice and services for Aboriginal communities .The project aims to build capacity in six urban and regional Aboriginal communities about the effects of dementia on older Aboriginal people, their families and their communities. I will continue to keep you up to date with what is happening in this project on my blog.
For an overview of work occurring in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ageing you might like to look at the proceedings of the 2nd National workshop of the Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ageing Committee (ATSIAC) which I have recently authored. A copy of this can be found at : http://www.aag.asn.au/filelib/2nd_National_Workshop_BOOKLET_Web.pdf
Advance Care Planning
My interest is in the future as I am going to live the rest of my life there - Charles F Kettering
I have worked in the area of dementia for a very long time . It is not possible to do this without witnessing families and friends of people living with dementia having to face numerous ethical and often complex decisions, particularly at the the end of that process. Many years ago I thought there had to be a better way …and advance care planning (Incorporating advance care directives) is that.
Fortunately a small group of colleagues felt the same and we joined forces to form The Advance Care Directive Association Inc. We believed in the need (and ourselves) enough to self publish a number of resources which are available on the above website.
Translating dementia research into practice
Buddha: Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true.
A passion of mine is to work on translating research into meaningful practice. Incidentally though – I do not believe that research is the only foundation for practice (rather that wisdom, accumulated life experiences, traditions, culture etc also have a significant value) That being so, there is an increasing expectation in the ageing and aged care arena that there will be an emphasis on providing care which is of the highest standard and be evidence based and I clearly have no problem with that. That being so the concept of research providing the only form of that evidence must continue to be challenged. There has to be a point at where we except what we know (based on using the best evidence available – not research to death to find the best evidence possible) and translate that into meaningful resources and services for others.
I have recently undertaken a number of projects which have gathered current evidence to create meaningful resources for clinicians. What these projects have highlighted to me is the multiple barriers that stand in the way of the uptake of research into the clinical area but additionally what is required to attempt to negate those barriers. You may like to explore more about translation of research into practice in the area of dementia by looking at the work of the Dementia Collaborative Research Centres (DCRC) http://www.dementia.unsw.edu.au/ and the Dementia Training and Study Centres
The Older Refugee Project
We are all alike on the inside – Mark Twain
It is impossible to even begin to imagine the atrocities, displacements , torture and trauma that some older refugees have had to endure. The significance of these issues on their own ageing experience can obviously be quite profound.
I have recently been working on a wonderful project with an inspiring group of health professionals developing a resource for aged care workers which will contribute to enhancing the ageing experience of this wonderful cohort. This has involved significant consultation and the creation of a resource that we are very proud of. “ Enhancing The Lives Of Older Refugees – A Self Improvement Resource for Community Service Providers ”. This resource was launched last week…and you can now find it on the NSW Refugee website at: http://www.refugeehealth.org.au/