Home hearing and vision care to improve quality of life for people with dementia and carers

Hearing and/or vision impairments affect over 70% of people receiving home care, and around 10% of home care recipients have dementia and 70% have mild cognitive impairment. Home care provided by professional caregivers enables older Australians to remain engaged and connected to their communities and to carry on living in their own home rather than needing to move to a residential aged care setting. Supporting people in their own homes rather than in residential aged care also reduces care costs.

People with hearing and vision impairments alongside dementia experience greater limitations in functional ability. Reduced independence and functional ability due to sensory impairment increases risk of transition to residential aged care. Hearing and vision impairments in people with dementia also impact on carers of people with dementia, increasing social isolation, depression, relationship stress and care burden.

Addressing hearing/vision impairments offers a cost-effective, acceptable, and valued opportunity to improve outcomes and quality of life for people with dementia and carers.
In this project, researchers will develop and evaluate a holistic and multidisciplinary hearing/vision home-based intervention for people with dementia. Researchers will collaborate with people with dementia, carers, aged care providers and hearing/vision professionals to deliver this project.

The questions this project will answer are:

  1. How should a holistic and multidisciplinary hearing/vision intervention be adapted for people with dementia in Australian home care settings?
  2. Does the intervention improve quality of life for people with dementia and their carers, and enable people to continue living in their own homes rather than moving into residential aged care?
     

Project members

Project Lead

Professor Piers Dawes

Director of Research Training
Centre Director
Centre for Hearing Research (CHEAR)
Professor
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Centre Director of University of Queensland Centre for Hearing Research (CHEAR)
Centre for Research on Exercise, Physical Activity and Health

Associate Investigators

Research Fellow

Dr Melinda Toomey

Research Fellow
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Affiliate of University of Queensland Centre for Hearing Research (CHEAR) & Affiliate of University of Queensland Centre for Hearing Research (CHEAR)
Centre for Research on Exercise, Physical Activity and Health

Contact

Professor Piers Dawes
p.dawes@uq.edu.au 

Dr Melinda Toomey
m.toomey@uq.edu.au