Monash University is calling on healthcare professionals and the broader community to help shape the future of dementia care, opening public consultation on the first major draft update to the national clinical guidelines in over a decade.
The proposed draft update to the Dementia Clinical Practice Guidelines, released, aims to guide clinical decision-making by exploring modern advances in dementia care, evaluating new therapies alongside support strategies like physical and cognitive rehabilitation, deprescribing, driving assessments, end-of-life communication and non-medication strategies.
It also examines whether lifestyle changes can effectively protect brain health, as well as the use of blood-based biomarkers to detect specific proteins and advanced brain scans as part of the diagnostic process.
The update was commissioned by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing in May 2024.
Professor Velandai Srikanth, Director of the National Centre for Healthy Ageing who co-chaired the update with Professor Simon Bell, Director of the Centre for Medicine Use and Safety within the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, said the revision addresses a decade of medical evolution.
“The landscape of dementia care has shifted significantly since 2016, particularly with advances in diagnostics and emerging treatments – and this draft aims to ensure health professionals are equipped with the most current evidence to support their patients,” Professor Srikanth said.
While the finalised guidelines will eventually refresh care strategies for healthcare professionals and the more than 400,000 Australians currently living with dementia, the project is now entering its critical public consultation phase.
A multidisciplinary Guideline Development Group focused on 15 high-priority questions to reflect recent advancements in care.
To ensure the guidelines remain patient-focused, they have been shaped by an 11-person Living Experience Advisory Group comprising people with dementia and current or former carers.
Professor Bell, Director of the Centre for Medicine Use and Safety, said that following the public consultation and review process, attention will turn toward implementing and disseminating the Guidelines in practice.
“We have developed the Guidelines with input from people who deliver and receive care at all stages,” Professor Bell said.
“Through the public consultation process, we look forward to further feedback from people with dementia, clinicians, support organisations and the broader community.”
Dementia manifests as a collection of symptoms affecting memory, thinking and behaviour. While it is more common in older people, dementia is not a normal part of ageing.
The number of Australians living with dementia is expected to grow from 425,000 this year to over 1.1 million by 2065, supported by more than 100,000 carers currently dedicating their time to loved ones.
Financially, dementia care accounts for $4.7 billion in health and aged care spending annually, with indirect costs expected to hit $9 billion by 2036.
While primarily designed for medical practitioners, nurses, pharmacists and allied health practitioners, it is envisaged that people living with dementia and their carers will also find the finalised framework to be a powerful resource for making informed healthcare choices.
