Major neurocognitive disorder (or simply Dementia) is one of the main causes of disability and burden disease to caregivers and the health system, and a frequent cause of mortality worldwide. Alzheimer`s disease (AD) is the most common type (60-70%).

AD is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition, causing neuronal and synaptic loss with subsequent cognitive disfunction.

There is cumulating evidence that sleep disturbances are associated with several pathological conditions, and AD is one of these. The prevalence and severity of sleep disorders is significant in AD patients, with sleep disturbances often precede its clinical diagnosis in many years. Some studies focus on possible mechanisms by which (abnormal) sleep participate in AD pathogenesis, and concluded individuals with sleep disturbances are at higher risk of developing dementia.

To highlight the current evidence on whether sleep disorders could precipitate or accelerate the clinical course of AD.

Non-systematic review about sleep abnormalities and AD pathogenesis.

Several authors described a two-way relationship between sleep and amyloid pathology - sleep deprivation would lead to increased production and decreased clearance of Aβ; once Aβ is accumulated it results in more disrupted sleep, with an increase of Aβ production during wakefulness and a decrease of its clearance during sleep.

Recent data showed that sleep continuity and architecture (decreased total sleep time, slow-wave sleep, and REM sleep) are disturbed in AD patients.

Otherwise, sleep deprivation may be associated with decreased glymphatic system clearance, leading to accumulation of neurotoxic proteins, particularly Aβ (and tau). It`s also associated with proinflammatory states due to accumulation of reactive oxygen species, nucleotides and proteins during wakefulness, which leads to immune response that causes neuronal dysfunction and cellular death. Insomnia and sleep deprivation were also associated with activation of complement pathway and immunoglobulins secretion. Many studies suggest chronic sleep disruption changes blood–brain barrier structure and function leading to Aβ accumulation.

There is emerging evidence that points sleep disturbances as both a potential marker for AD pathology and risk predictor of developing the disease. Future investigations should evaluate the relationship between specific sleep disorders and AD physiopathology.

Historically, older adults in residential aged care facilities (RACF) in Australia had no access to government funded psychology services despite high rates of anxiety and depression. Change Futures is a registered charity that provides funded psychology to more than 220 RACFs in south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales, Australia, and since 2015 has been providing free psychology services to older adults living in aged care, using a predominately provisional psychologist workforce. This presentation will discuss the model of service that is provided, and the findings of a recent outcomes report.

Data was collected via clinician entered eHealth records in the 2021/2022 financial year from 01/07/2021 to 30/06/2022. Outcome measures were analysed using six repeated measure t-tests to compare clinical change from first and last assessments.

A total of 2865 residents were seen in 17,754 individual sessions and 298 group sessions. Staff education was provided in 94 sessions with 838 participants, who worked in RACFs. The most common presenting issue was difficulties with adjustment (70%), comorbid anxiety and depression (28%), depression (27%), loneliness (18%), and anxiety (17%). Outcomes of the psychology program showed statistically significant improvements on all measures, including the Kessler 5 psychological distress scale, Geriatric anxiety scale, Patient health Questionaire-9, De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, and Brief Adjustment Scale.

The described service model resulted in significant improvements to the psychological wellbeing of older adults, and represents an effective and sustainable training approach for provisional psychologists.

Falls is the leading cause of injury, and injury-related cognitive decline and death for older adults. Weight loss and malnutrition contribute to the risk of falls through increased frailty, visual and cognitive impairment, and predicts both the severity and recovery time of falls. Psychological and social factors such as isolation, loneliness, cognitive impairment, anxiety and depression are significantly associated with falls and weight loss for older adults. Reminiscence therapy is a psychological intervention that can improve anxiety, mood disorders, cognition and isolation; however, it is not yet known the impact that reminiscence therapy has on the incidence of falls and weight loss. This abstract will present the existing research on reminiscence therapy for the prevention of falls and weight loss, describe a group reminiscence therapy protocol to target these risk factors, and outline preliminary findings from a small pilot trial group therapy program conducted in February, 2023.

Data on pre and post incidence of falls and weight loss collected from eHealth records for: 1) 3 months prior to the group, and 2) the 9-week duration of the group will be discussed. Group participants will complete a pre and post Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS21) and provide feedback on the therapy protocol.

This presentation will discuss the suitability of a group reminiscence therapy protocol to reduce psychological and social risk factors associated with falls and weight loss for older adults in residential aged care.

Reminiscence therapy is an evidence-based treatment for late life depressive symptoms, and has been associated with improvements in cognitive function, loneliness, happiness, and wellbeing for older people. While music is often involved in reminiscence therapy, little is known about how music is used or works in this context. Specifically, we do not know what purpose music serves, or how it works to enhance the experience when combined with reminiscence therapy. This presentation will provide an overview of two studies exploring how music enhances reminiscence therapy.

A narrative literature review was conducted with a structured search strategy to identify all relevant literature. Furthermore, a single-case repeated measures experimental EEG study with 4 older adults experiencing psychological distress was conducted. Participants were randomly assigned to a single session of either verbal reminiscence therapy or music-assisted reminiscence therapy. EEG recordings of resting states (e.g., eyes closed) were taken before and after the session, together with different epochs recorded during the session (e.g., during the start of reminiscence, the problem solving success, and music played). Analysis involved calculating the standardised LORETA (sLORETA) calculations to map regions and sources of EEG activity during these epochs.

The SEED model proposed that music enhances reminiscence through: Summoning autobiographical memories, eliciting physiological responses, evoking emotional reactions and pleasure, and defining and describing self-identity and social connectedness. Findings of the EEG study suggested that for the individual participants, both verbal and music-assisted reminiscence therapy resulted in widespread and lateralised activation. These activations were stronger for music- assisted reminiscence than for verbal reminiscence, particularly in the central and frontal areas. Only participants who received music-assisted reminiscence demonstrated activation in areas associated with emotional regulation and meditation, providing preliminary evidence for the SEED model.

The two presented studies contribute to our understanding of the potential mechanisms for change when applying reminiscence and music-assisted reminiscence therapy interventions to improve wellbeing for older people.

We aimed to study the relationship between glutathione (GSH), a key molecule of the anti-oxidant defense system in the blood, and glutathione reductase (GR), which reduces oxidized GSSG to GSH and maintains redox balance, with the prevalence of Alzheimer’s dementia and cognitive decline.

20 with normal cognition and 20 with Alzheimer's dementia who completed the 3rd f/u clinical evaluation over 6 years were selected by matching age and gender. Plasma glutathione (GSH) and glutathione reductase (GR) concentrations were independent variables. Clinical diagnosis and neurocognitive test scores were used as dependent variables indicating cognitive status.

The higher the GR, the greater the possibility of normal cognition rather than Alzheimer's dementia. Also, the higher the GR, the higher the neurocognitive score. However, this association was not significant in GSH in any way. After 6 years, the conversion rate from normal cognition to cognitive impairment was significantly higher in the lower 50th percentile of the GR group than in the upper 50th percentile.

According to the result of this study, the higher the GR, the lower the prevalence of Alzheimer's dementia and incidence of cognitive impairment, and the higher the cognitive outcome. Therefore, GR can be regarded as a protective biomarker for Alzheimer’s dementia and cognitive decline.

Maintaining remission after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is of clinical relevance in patients with depression, and maintenance ECT is introduced in patients who fail to maintain remission after ECT. However, the clinical characteristics and the biological background of patients who receive maintenance ECT are barely understood.

At Keio University Hospital, Patients with major depressive disorder according to DSM-IV who received ECT between January 2012 and March 2019 followed by maintenance ECT (mECT group) and those who did not (aECT group) were included. Clinical characteristics including the results of neuroimaging marker for Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies were compared between groups.

Thirteen and one hundred forty-six patients were included in mECT and aECT groups, respectively. Compared with aECT group, the age of onset and the age of the first ECT was older in mECT group. Besides, mECT group showed significantly higher prevalence of melancholic feature (92.3% vs. 27.4%, p<0.001) and catatonic feature (46.2% vs. 9.6%, p=0.002). The results of neuroimaging marker obtained in 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy and dopamine transporter scan revealed that 5 of 13 patients and 16 of 146 patients showed Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies in mECT and aECT groups, respectively.

Patients who underwent acute and maintenance ECT have impaired dopamine function. Investigating the neurobiology of patients who receiving maintenance ECT is an important area for development of appropriate treatment for depression.

Internet-based interventions have been explored for their potential to minimize the negative outcomes of caring, accounting for their convenient delivery, ubiquity, potential scalability and presumed (cost) effectiveness. A new online training and support programme for dementia caregivers was recently created by the World Health Organization and culturally adapted to European-Portuguese. The programme (iSupport) was developed to prevent or minimize the negative psychological effects of providing informal care to a person with dementia and relies on problem-solving and cognitive behavioural therapy techniques.

To study the usability and feasibility of the European-Portuguese version of iSupport (iSupport- Portugal).

The usability study was aimed at collecting data on user satisfaction and requirements on the programme's contents and interface. A mixed-methods design consisted of focus groups discussion and usability test sessions with informal caregivers (N=17) and health/social support professionals (N=13). The pilot study followed a mixed-methods experimental parallel between-group design with two arms (iSupport, N=21 and e-book, N=21).

The usability tests show a success rate superior to 80% in completing tasks within the platform and an excellent perception of the program's usability (M= 89.5 on the System Usability Scale). The feasibility study allowed to explore usage data for iSupport-Portugal (e.g., lessons visited, time on sessions) and explore how the intervention and control arms compare over time (baseline, 3 and 6 months after) on well-being outcomes. For a per-protocol analysis, significant group-by-time interaction effects favouring the intervention were found for anxiety (Wald χ2=6.17, p=.046) and for environmental QoL (Wald χ2=7.06, p=.029). Interviewees with the intervention arm (N=12) revealed positive impacts of iSupport on knowledge and on experiencing positive feelings.

The usability and feasibility studies of iSupport-Portugal suggest that this is a promising resource to support informal dementia caregivers. Lessons were learned on the ethical, technological, and research-related challenges for online interventions.

to compare the relationship between personality traits and the loneliness rate of change between the UK and the US.

We used data from 7932 older adults 52 years and older from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and 7,979 older adults 50 years and older from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). In ELSA, we considered wave 5 (2010/2011) as our baseline and wave 6 (2012/2013) to wave 9 (2018/2019) for loneliness follow-up. In HRS, we used wave 10 (2010) as baseline and wave 11 (2012) to wave 14 (2018) as follow-up. Loneliness was measured using the three-item R-UCLA, and personality traits were measured using the 25 items from MIDUS 1 and 2 Studies. We used the rate of change to analyse the changes in loneliness over time and multilevel mixed-effects linear regression to analyse the relationship between personality traits and loneliness rate of change. We adjusted the models by social isolation, sociodemographic, economic and health outcomes.

ELSA and HRS participants were similar except for their age (67 years in ELSA and 73 in HRS) and ethnicity (98% white in ELSA and 79% white in HRS). Over eight years, we observed a decrease in loneliness in the participants of both cohorts. The overall rate of decline was -3.93 in ELSA and -2.38 in HRS. Among the ELSA participants, in the fully adjusted models, extroversion (ß= 0.012, 95% CI: 0.004-0.021) and neuroticism (ß= - 0.010, 95% CI: -0.018-0.002) were the only personality traits associated with the loneliness rate of decline, while among the HRS participants, extroversion (ß=0.084, 95% CI: 0.070- 0.098), neuroticism (ß=-0.095, 95% CI: -0.109-0.082), agreeableness (ß=0.055, 95% CI: 0.039-0.071), conscientiousness (ß=0.045, 95% CI:0.029-0.061) and openness to experience (ß=0.031, 95% CI: 0.019-0.044) were associated with the loneliness rate of decline in the fully adjusted models.

There are important country differences in the relationship between personality traits and loneliness rate of decline. We hypothesised that in the absence of a social protection system and universal health care, the role of psychological factors might become even more relevant to predict loneliness. Cultural factors might also be playing a role.

This study aims to analyze the effect of reminiscence therapy using immersive virtual reality technology, in comparison with conventional reminiscence therapy, on anxiety and depressive symptoms of people with dementia.

This pilot study followed a randomized controlled trial design. A convenience sample of 16 people with dementia was randomly divided in experimental and control groups. Due to health-related factors, 2 participants abandoned the study before completing the intervention. Intervention consisted of 8 biweekly individual reminiscence sessions conducted by trained researchers, in which participants in the experimental group viewed 360o videos of locations with personal relevance considering their life narratives, using virtual reality headsets to promote an immersive experience. Intervention in the control group was similar, except the videos were displayed in a computer monitor. The assessment was carried out before and after the intervention, using the Geriatric Depression Scale (15 items) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (7 items).

Intervention and control groups were compared regarding sociodemographic variables and level of dementia progression at baseline. No statistically significant differences were found. Regarding the comparison of anxiety and depressive symptoms pre- and post-intervention, a slight decrease was observed in both groups, although statistical significance was not reached (p>0.05).

The results of the present study do not illustrate an added value regarding the use of immersive stimuli with virtual reality technology, in reminiscence therapy programs with people with dementia. Further research is warranted to better ascertain the cost effectiveness of using these technologies in the non-pharmacological treatment of people with dementia.

The number of elderly populations continues to increase as the advancement in healthcare grows, which is shown by the increase of life expectancy, the declining mortality rates, and the surge of people with dementia (PwD). This mental health issue is barely identifiable by health workers and the elderly themselves especially during COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is important to evaluate and identify the unmet needs of people with dementia, especially mild to moderate dementia.

To describe the unmet needs of people with mild to moderate dementia during COVID- 19 pandemic in 2021 in East Jakarta, Indonesia.

This study is using the CDR (Clinical Dementia Rating Scale) to assess severity level of Dementia, then using the CANE (Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly) instrument to assess the unmet needs of people with mild to moderate dementia.

96 participants were assessed suffer from mild dementia (75%) and moderate dementia (25%). This study procured five substantial unmet needs proportion, which are friendship (26.0%), psychological distress (20.8%), close relationships (19.8%), memory dysfunction (16.7%), and daily activities (10.4%). During interviews in conducting unmet needs assessments, people with mild to moderate dementia and accompanying families expressed their desire for an activity that would be useful to overcome their unmet needs.

The COVID-19 pandemic for the people with mild to moderate dementia has an impact on friendships, psychological distress, memory dysfunction and daily activities so they need meaningful activities to overcome them.

Cognitive impairment is a growing problem with increasing burden in ageing global population. Older adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) have higher risk of dementia during ageing. Neurofilament light chain (NfL) has been proven as a potential biomarker related to dementia. The present study aims to assess the cognitive deficits in older adults with MDD and investigate their association with peripheral blood levels of NfL.

We enrolled 39 individuals with MDD and 15 individuals with mild neurocognitive disorder or major neurocognitive disorder, Alzheimer’s type. Both groups were over age 65 and with restricted Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score. Demographic data, clinical variables, and plasma NfL levels were obtained. We used cluster analysis according to their cognitive profile and estimated the correlation between plasma NfL levels and cognitive impairment in each domain.

In the MDD group, participants have higher rate of family psychiatry history and higher rate of current alcohol use habit compared with patients with neurocognitive disorders. In the neurocognitive disorders group, participants showed significantly lower score in total MMSE and higher plasma NfL levels. Part of the MDD patients presented cognitive deficits similar to that of neurocognitive disorders (cluster A). In cluster A, the total MMSE score (r=-0.58277, p=0.0287) and the comprehension domain (r=-0.71717, p=0.0039) were negatively correlated to NfL levels after adjusting for age, while the associations had not been observed in the other cluster.

We noted the negative correlation between NfL levels and cognitive performance in MDD patients whose cognitive manifestation were more similar to that of degenerative neurocognitive disorders. NfL might be a potential marker to predict patients with MDD to develop cognitive decline especially in domains typically found in Alzheimer’s disease. Further longitudinal studies are required to validate our findings for clinical implications.

The traffic issues have been attracting global attention due to increased occurrence and higher mortality rate in the older population. Many countries have employed different kinds of regulations on the elder drivers depending either on their age or whether being demented. These policy differences left a research gap to identify the temporal relationship between serious traffic accidents (STA) and dementias, which can inform the most appropriate time for policymaking. In the present study, we linked two national databases and performed analyses to explore this problem.

With the grant and supports from the government, the research team combined the databases of STA registries and the whole population dataset of National Health Insurance Research Database to form a 10-year retrospective cohort for analyses. We performed both retrospective and prospective directions to explore the time length between STAs and the diagnoses of dementia depending on the selection of the STA occurrences and dementia diagnoses as outcomes. In addition to descriptive statistical analyses, we also performed inferential statistics to analyse the variables between different types of STAs. A p-value less than 0.05 was set as statistically significant.

437516 persons involved in STAs were enrolled for analyses and the mean age was 61.47 years (SD=8.90) with sex ratio (F/M) of 0.62. We divided the samples into three groups: (1) STAs without dementias (95.17%) (2) dementias after STAs (3.40%), and (3) dementias before STAs (1.43%). The mean age of the 3rd group (73.80 years, SD=8.79) was significantly older than the rest two. When comparing these three groups, a preceded dementia diagnosis was a significant risk factor for repeated STAs. (OR: 1.205, 95% CI: 1.100-1.320, p<0.001) Finally, an average length of 2.35 years (SD: 1.60) was found for those who was diagnosed of dementias before the first STA while 2.57 years (SD: 1.69) was noted for the diagnosis of dementia after first STA.

In our study, dementia was identified as a significant risk factor for STAs. We further asserted that 2.5 years would be an appropriate time length for the authorities to examine the traffic risks of those who were diagnosed of dementias.

Heart rate variability (HRV), a quantitative measure of mainly parasympathetic activity, has been applied in evaluating many types of psychiatric and neurological disorders, including dementia (or neurocognitive disorders). However, although dementia patients often showed significantly lower HRV (various indices) than healthy controls, and different types of dementia had distinct HRV features, the results were not identical across studies. We designed a systematic review and meta-analysis for incorporating data from different studies.

We gathered studies comparing HRV in patients with dementia and in healthy controls. HRV was analysed in several ways: parasympathetic function in hierarchical order (main analysis); total variability; comparison of HRV between different subtypes of dementia; specific indices of HRV; HRV reactivity.

In initial search, we found 3425 relevant articles; 24 studies with a total of 1107 dementia patients and 1017 control participants finally entered the meta-analysis. The dementia patients had a significantly lower resting HRV for parasympathetic function (Hedges’g=−0.3596, p=0.0002) and total variability (Hedges’g=−0.3059, p=0.0002) than the controls. For diagnostic subgroup analysis relative to the controls, HRV was significantly lower in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients (Hedges’g=−0.3060) and in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) (Hedges’g=−1.4154, p<0.0001). Relative to patients with Alzheimer’s disease, HRV in patients with DLB was significantly lower (Hedges’g=−1.5465, p=0.0381). Meta-regression revealed that gender proportion was significantly associated with effect size.

Our results support that dementia (especially DLB and MCI) patients to have lower parasympathetic activity than health people. The influence of gender on the results should be carefully interpreted.

Empathy is a core characteristic expected from all healthcare professionals. Higher empathy is associated with reduced burnout, greater job satisfaction, and better patient outcomes. However, there are inequalities in care provided to older adults and people with dementia. Several reports have highlighted that, too often, care lacking in empathy is provided to older populations. The healthcare workforce needs to have the skills and attitudes to provide high-quality care that incorporates empathy. Therefore, appropriate education needs to be provided at undergraduate level to enhance empathy. To understand how empathy can be enhanced towards older adults and people with dementia, a systematic review and meta-analysis were completed.

The objectives of this systematic review and meta-analysis were:

• To identify what educational interventions were used to enhance empathy in healthcare students towards older adults and people with dementia,

• To identify what instruments were used to measure empathy change,

• To determine the efficacy of interventions on empathy.

A systematic literature search was completed in March 2021 using five electronic databases, grey literature, and snowball approaches. Studies were assessed by two independent reviewers using a pre-determined set of criteria. A narrative synthesis was completed, data was grouped and tabulated, and a random-effects meta-analysis was completed on eligible studies.

Of 1,937 studies, 25 studies of moderate quality evaluated interventions that targeted empathy towards aging (n=20) and dementia (n=5). Three types of interventions were used: simulation, intergenerational contact, and mixed approaches, and most (84%) reported positive empathy change post-intervention. Empathy was measured most frequently using generic, self-administered instruments. Meta-analysis of studies (n=9) showed a small, but significant effect on empathy change; however, heterogeneity was high.

The evidence suggests that interventions can enhance empathy in undergraduate healthcare students towards older adults. However, few studies reviewed empathy towards dementia and the impact of interventions, therefore further research is needed.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is an effective, safe, and well-tolerated option for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). The minimal medical and cognitive side effects are advantages of rTMS for all patients. However, the majority of rTMS studies in older adults are notable for underdosing rTMS relative to the corresponding FDA-protocol, as noted by recent international meta-analyses. This study utilizes the standardized rTMS FDA protocol and compares the response rates between older adult and non-older adult patients in a TRD clinic in Atlanta, Georgia with depressive symptoms as the primary outcome and anxiety symptoms as the secondary outcome.

This retrospective chart review of patients who received rTMS between March 2017 to June 2022 used descriptive statistics to compare treatment parameters and dropout rates between older adult and non-older adult patients. A 2 x 3 repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) analyzed changes in self-reported depression and anxiety symptom severity throughout treatment course (baseline, treatment midpoint, and final treatment) between the two groups.

Eighty-nine patients were included for analysis: Group 1: >55 years old (n= 42; M= 66.48, sd= 6.16; 71% female), and Group 2: <55 years old (n = 47; M= 37.40, sd= 9.13; 60% female). All patients received at least 3000 pulses per session, with 85.71% of patients completing the FDA protocol in Group 1 and 85.11% of patients completing in Group 2. A >50% improvement in depression scores at the end of treatment were seen in 38.1% of patients in Group 1 and 31.9% of patients in Group 2. Both groups demonstrated significant within-group reductions of depression throughout treatment (ps < .001). A smaller subset of patients completed an anxiety questionnaire. Forty percent in Group 1 (n=24) and 33.3% in Group 2 (n=25) showed a >50% improvement in anxiety scores by end of treatment. Both groups demonstrated significant within-group reductions of anxiety throughout treatment (ps < .001). The between groups’ difference for change in depression and anxiety scores was not statistically significant.

With FDA protocol dosing, older and non-older patients have consistent response and tolerability. While overall response rates were slightly lower than reported standardized clinical trials, our real-world sample highlights the effectiveness of rTMS for patients, including adults over 55, treated in an unselected, naturalistic outpatient sample.

Older people with mental illness are likely to have increased difficulty in accessing health services due to social isolation and functional disability. It is well reported that people with mental illness are also more likely to have chronic and complex medical needs, be frail and be socially isolated. They are two times more likely to have respiratory disease, have cardiovascular disease, have metabolic syndrome, have diabetes, six times more likely to have dental problems and more likely to die earlier than the general population.

The physical health program developed by the Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD) community Older Peoples Mental Health Service (OPMHS) was part of a statewide project, facilitated by the Older People's Mental Health Policy Unit, Mental Health Branch, NSW Ministry of Health, where a variety of strategies were developed and implemented, to support the physical health of older mental health consumers using a biopsychosocial approach.

NSLHD focused on providing OPMHS clinicians with the opportunity and resources to support older people with mental illness with their physical health and wellbeing, in particular Cardiometabolic Health, both screening and supporting interventions to address abnormalities and proactively support healthy lifestyle strategies. In each of the three community services, the program was led by a senior clinician who supported their team clinicians to carry out physical health assessments and planning.

The program commenced in July 2020, with the percentage of consumers of OPMHS who had regular metabolic monitoring completed, increasing from less than 10% to over 75%. Proactive person centred consideration and discussion including aspects of the consumers physical health and socialisation opportunities took place between clinicians, consumers and carers whilst their reviewing care in the community setting.

The improvements have been sustained through a variety of strategies, in particular, capacity building within the multidisciplinary teams and the provision of the necessary resources 2023 IPA International Congress_Lisbon, Portugal Anne Hoolahan to carry out physical health monitoring and health promotion activities. Appropriate pathways were developed to escalate medical support recognised and sustain physical and psychological supports post discharge.

Anne Hoolahan is a clinical nurse consultant in the Northern Sydney Local Health District, Older Peoples Mental Health Service. Anne qualified as a registered nurse in Sydney in 1990. Anne has worked in a variety of inpatient and community roles caring for older people before specialising in older people’s mental health. Anne holds a DipTeach (Ed) | MEd (Adult) | GradDipApSc (Nursing) | GradDipHlthSc (Geront) | GradCertMHlth (Older People).

This is a report of a workshop for local residents organized by university researchers in various fields with the aim to develop a dementia prevention method. The five academic fields involved in the project are Health & Sports, Psychology, Food Nutrition, Music, and Nursing.

Dementia Prevention Workshop took place once a week between October 2021 and July 2022 except for some intervals due to surges in Covid-19 infection cases. Dual task exercises were conducted at each session, followed by groupworks by researchers of Psychology, Nutrition, Music, and Nursing Science taking turns. Psychologists facilitated the understanding of assertion, nutritionists held lectures on food life designed for dementia prevention, musicians played instruments, and nurses intervened through the Group Reminiscence Method. The Nursing Science experts conducted evaluations at the beginning and the end of each session using SF-36 and CES-D and checked the participants’ mood before and after the reminiscence session with Japanese UWIST mood adjective checklist (JUMACL).

16 participants took the measurement after the workshop, and their average age (SD) was 72.9 (5.5). In the overall evaluation, the participants’ motor ability improved(p<.05), and they retained cognitive functions. In SF-36, no statistically significant differences were observed before and after the classroom. Compared to the data from 2017, the scores in the social aspect were lower. In CES-D, the scores significantly worsened after the workshop, with some participants’ scores exceeding 16 points, which is the depression cutoff point. In JUMACL, the Tense Arousal (TA) related to the arousal state and the Energetic Arousal (EA), which is supposedly related to intellectual activities, both improved after the session.

In a single evaluation before and after a group reminiscence session, the state of relaxed concentration with a suggested connection with intellectual activities, but the overall evaluation result throughout the workshop project suggested the need to reinforce the approach to the mental aspect because of some participants observed with decreased scores in the mental aspects with depressive tendency. We will establish an intervention plan by also incorporating the impact of Covid-19-related depression.

Persons newly diagnosed with dementia and their family member is imperative often experience uncertainty and inadequate support. This study aims to evaluate a post-diagnostic support programme guided by the 5 Pillars Model proposed by Alzheimer Scotland on the self-efficacy among persons with early dementia and their family members.

A prospective cohort study design was conducted between 2019 and 2022. Subject recruitment was conducted in four non-government organizations. A multi-domain empowerment programme, covering various aspects about dementia knowledge, management skills, peer support, future decision-making and community resources, was developed. The programme was provided to people newly diagnosed of early dementia in small group format over 2 months and to family members individually through an eLearning platform over 9 months. Self efficacy in dementia management of people with dementia and their family members were measured using Chronic Disease Self-efficacy Scale and Caregiver Self-efficacy Scale (CSES), respectively, whereas caregiving burden was measured using Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI). Study outcomes were measured at baseline, immediate and 6-month post-intervention. Paired t-tests were performed to detect within-subject changes over time.

A total of 151 persons with early dementia and 294 family caregivers completed assessment at baseline and follow up. Self-efficacy in dementia management reported by persons with dementia at 6-month post-intervention was significantly higher than that reported at baseline (p = .021) and immediate post-intervention (i.e. 2-month follow up) (p = .006). Family members reported a significantly higher CSES score (p < .001) and subscale scores in thoughts (p = .001) and disruptive behaviour management (p = .001) at 9-month follow up, but significant reduction in caregiving burden (p < .001) was only noted among those who perceived higher burden than the local norms at baseline (ZBI score ≥ 25, n = 110).

This study provides empirical evidence that post-diagnostic support would empower persons with early dementia and their family members on adapting the impacts brought by dementia. Further study on examining the longer term effects on care outcomes and health service utilisation would be valuable.