Domains and Tiers

Explores recognising signs and symptoms of the various types of dementia, including young-onset dementia, accessing diagnosis, support, and services, the impact of neurological changes, reducing stigma, and promoting inclusion and strategies for reducing the risk of developing dementia.

Themes:

• Types of dementia
• Prevalence and incidence
• Recognising signs and symptoms
• Impact of neurological changes
• Accessing diagnosis, support and services
• Reducing stigma and supporting inclusion
• Young-onset and childhood dementia
• Dementia risk reduction

This Domain covers recognising and understanding the early signs and symptoms of dementia, assessments, and timely diagnosis, advance care planning, immediate post-diagnostic support, and connection to services.

Themes:

• Early signs and Identification
• Assessment
• Diagnosis of dementia in different age groups
• Advance care planning
• Immediate post diagnostic support
• Ongoing support and connection to services

This Domain recognises the importance of respecting the rights, responsibilities, dignity and wellbeing of individuals living with dementia. It focuses on human rights, ethics and supports self-determination, and lays the foundation for ethical and person-centred care and support. It promotes the autonomy, privacy and confidentiality of individuals living with dementia and their right not to be abused or neglected.

Themes:

• Capacity, informed consent and supported decision-making
• Disability, equality and non-discrimination
• Right to risk and right to take that risk
• Right and dignity of choice
• Privacy and confidentiality
• Legal and policy frameworks
• Abuse and neglect
• Equal access to treatment and services
• Restrictive practices

This Domain includes understanding different paradigms and models of care for dementia, the importance of individuality and identity, addressing the human needs of individuals living with dementia, culture change in care and support, utilising an individual's life history to maintain personhood, fostering relationship-focused care, and understanding the impact of malignant social psychology and stigma on people living with dementia.

Themes:

• Dementia paradigms
• Models of care
• Individuality and identity
• Human needs
• Implementing culture change
• Life history and personhood
• Relationship-focused and person-directed care
• Impact of malignant social psychology and stigma

The focus of this Domain are valuing families and carers as equal partners in decision-making, drawing on their knowledge and relationship to support personhood, assessing carers needs, access to support and information for families and carers, conflicts of interest and balancing needs and choices, culture, and beliefs in the caring role, and supporting young carers and family members.

Themes:

• Carers and families as care partners in decision-making
• Drawing on carer and families’ knowledge and relationship to support personhood
• Working with carers to assess needs and supports
• Access to support and information for families and carers
• Conflict of interest between needs and choices
• Diversity, culture and beliefs in the caring role
• Supporting young carers and family members

The themes covered in this Domain include supporting choice, autonomy, independence and function, multidisciplinary approach to holistic care, access to rehabilitation services, enablement and reablement and driving.

Themes:

• Supporting choice, autonomy and supported decision-making
• Supporting independence and function
• Multidisciplinary approach to holistic care
• Access to rehabilitation services
• Enablement and reablement approaches
• Driving

The themes of this Domain include the impact of cognitive changes on communication, emotional intelligence, communication skills and techniques, enabling communication, cultural and language considerations, loneliness and isolation, and promoting connectedness.

Themes:

• Cognitive impact on communication
• Emotional intelligence
• Communication skills and techniques
• Enabling communication
• Culture and language
• Loneliness and isolation
• Connectedness

The themes of this domain include spirituality, meaning and purpose, personal growth, sense of emotional security, experiencing joy, mental health comorbidities and meaningful engagement.

Themes:

• Expression of spirituality
• Meaning and finding purpose
• Personal growth
• Sense of emotional security
• Experiencing joy
• Mental health comorbidities
• Engagement and socialisation

This Domain covers delirium, reducing overmedication (polypharmacy), managing pain and other comorbidities, mobility and physical activity, sustenance and continence issues, and sleep.

Themes:

• Delirium
• Polypharmacy
• Pain, sensory impairment and other comorbidities
• Mobility and physical activity
• Nutrition and hydration
• Continence
• Sleep

Understanding the principles of design that contribute to a person-centred built environment, assessing the impact of the environment on a person's quality of life, utilising assistive technology, supporting access to the outdoors, self-engagement, leisure, and recreation.

Themes:

• Knowledge and application of relevant design principles and guidelines
• Assessing the environment
• Implementing environmental change
• Assistive technology
• Access to outdoors and the natural world
• Developing meaningful engaging spaces
• Supporting community access and connection

This Domain covers understanding of behaviour as communication, the causes of illbeing and distress, and positive approaches to meeting the needs of people living with dementia. Other themes include access to information and support, the use and limitations of pharmacological interventions, language and labelling, and psychological symptoms.

Themes:

• Behaviour as communication
• Causes of illbeing and distress leading to changed behaviour
• Positive practice to meet needs including psycho-social-spiritual engagement
• Access to information and support
• Use and limitations of pharmacological interventions
• Language and labelling
• Psychological symptoms

This Domain encompasses the identification of diverse backgrounds and cultures, developing cultural competence, understanding sexuality, gender and body diversity, and specific challenges faced when living with dementia in regional, rural and remote areas, and recognising the impact of cultural perceptions and beliefs on the experience of dementia.

Themes:

• Respecting diversity
• Cultural competence
• Sexuality, gender and body diversity
• Regional, rural and remote challenges
• Perceptions and beliefs within different cultures

The focus of this domain is building cultural competence, increasing community awareness and understanding, and access to culturally safe and appropriate services, the prevalence and incidence of dementia in Indigenous communities, developing culturally responsive assessment and diagnosis practices, and understanding the importance of community-based care in this population.

Themes:

• Cultural understanding and application to practice
• Prevalence and incidence
• Assessment and diagnosis
• Access to culturally safe and appropriate services
• Community awareness and understanding
• Mob-based care

The themes of this domain include the importance of end-of-life care and palliative care that uphold high standards of clinical practice and ethical considerations, reduce pain and suffering as much as possible, consider physical care needs, respectful end-of-life conversations, through to supporting both individuals and their families through bereavement and grief.

Themes:

• Reduce pain, distress and suffering as much as possible
• Physical care needs
• Respecting choices in end-of-life conversations and decisions
• Psychological, cultural and spiritual needs
• Maintain clinical and ethical standards
• Bereavement and grief support
• Palliative care