Sport, Health & Wellbeing
How clinical nurse Clare’s PhD is improving access for dementia interventions
Registered nurse and º£½ÇÉäÇø PhD candidate Clare Stephenson is on a mission to broaden access to intervention programs for people with dementia. Her clinical experience has shown her that social engagement is often underestimated in dementia intervention programs.
“At the moment, a lot of dementia care is very medically focused on pharmacological interventions,” says Clare.
“Whereas non-pharmacological interventions like exercise, social interaction and engagement in activities have the potential to reduce or delay the progression of further symptoms and improve quality of life.”
Clare graduated with a Bachelor of Nursing from UC in 2013 and went on to complete an Honours degree in 2016. She has also been a registered nurse with Canberra Health Services (CHS) since 2014.
Working at Canberra Hospital, Clare built up a wealth of experience as a Parkinson’s Advanced Practice Nurse before moving to a Clinical Nurse Consultant role, where she worked with people who had an intellectual disability and co-occurring mental illness. She later joined the Acute Care of the Elderly Ward, where she was promoted to Clinical Nurse Consultant in 2022.
“I also oversee our geriatric special care unit, where we specifically provide care to people with dementia experiencing changed behaviours, also referred to as ‘behaviours of unmet need’,” says Clare.
Clare completed a Master of Healthcare Leadership at Southern Cross University in 2022 – and until last year, further study hadn’t been on the cards for her.
“I had just finished my master’s, and had committed to not doing any further study, because I had basically been studying non-stop,” says Clare.
However, a successful application for a research scholarship, co-funded by UC and ACT Health with support from CHS, changed her mind.
“When this scholarship opportunity came up, it was right up my alley,” she says.
Clare’s PhD encompasses the co-design, implementation and evaluation of an at-home rehabilitation intervention for people with dementia.
The concept came out of the SPICE (Sustainable Personalised Interventions for Cognition, Care, and Engagement) program, which is led by her PhD supervisor, Associate Professor Nathan D’Cunha from UC’s Centre for Ageing Research and Translation (CARAT) in the Faculty of Health.
SPICE is a 12-week program for people diagnosed with dementia, conducted in collaboration with CHS, that supports people to maintain their independence, increase social engagement and improve quality of life.
“Much of this is in response to the ,” explains Clare.
It’s about recognising that people with dementia need access to the same sort of support as people who have illnesses like cancer and diabetes – like individualised care plans to support people to maintain mobility.
“For people with degenerative diseases – and specifically dementia – we don't really have those pathways. That’s what SPICE aims to address.”
While SPICE participants attend the º£½ÇÉäÇø Hospital with a care partner and engage in group-based rehabilitation interventions, the intervention that Clare is co-designing is a little different.
“The idea behind my PhD project is filling that gap for people who might not have access to transport, or people who might not be ready or able to participate in a group setting,” she says.
Clare explains that this program will be particularly beneficial for people who feel uncomfortable in unfamiliar environments, which could include people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.
The intervention will be delivered by a multidisciplinary team that includes an allied health assistant, and it will take place within a shorter timeframe than SPICE.
“We’re interested in seeing whether it's feasible and if we could still see significant outcomes during a shorter period,” says Clare.
She completed the co-design phase of the project in September. This included a series of four workshops with a panel of experts that included people living with dementia, informal carers, consumer advocates, health professionals and dementia researchers in the ACT. The intervention takes a participatory approach, so the involvement of people with lived experience of dementia is particularly important.
Clare aims to begin the trial intervention early next year, and she is enthusiastic about its prospects.
“This research not only has the potential to improve meaningful engagement and wellbeing for people impacted by dementia, but also raises social awareness of their needs,” she says.
Clare is continuing to work on the Acute Care of the Elderly ward while she carries out her PhD full-time – a choice that she finds extremely fulfilling, if a little sleep-depriving.
“From my perspective, I feel very privileged because I'm able to do this research, while still also working as a clinician.”
Read more about SPICE in News.
As part of the Research Festival 2024, the Life of a CBRn pop-up installation will showcase UC’s research impact in the capital region.
SPICE is one of thirty impact case studies that exemplify how UC research touches the lives of Canberrans.
will be open to the public in the Canberra Centre throughout November 2024. From December, it will move to UC.
Story by Larissa Fedunik, photos by Liam Budge