Wesley Mission Brisbane has been awarded an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant in partnership with Griffith University. This has enabled a research project to take place in Wesley Mission Brisbane aged care communities to look at improving the quality of life of people living with advanced dementia.
 

A pilot research program is currently underway at Parkview. Project Officer Lenore Eggins says that the research project has great potential.
 

"The aim is to better understand how people living with advanced dementia interact in social situations, in the hope of improving the clients quality of life and reducing stigma and isolation," says Lenore.
 

The pilot study involves ‘elder clowns’ and theatre practitioners going into aged care communities and spending time with people with advanced dementia. Lenore says she is seeing some clients, who were previously not very verbal, to start to communicate with the theatre practitioners.
 

"One of the researchers wears a little camera on his chest to record facial expressions, one is taking video of all the interactions, and the research assistant takes notes, so it’s very comprehensive."

"The project provides an opportunity to raise the profile of people living with dementia and to show that these individuals can be engaged with, communicated with and are very much still themselves."