Aged Care Symposium

Posted Tuesday 16 April 2024 | James Cook University

James Cook University (JCU) and Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN) are hosting a full day interactive aged care symposium. Join us for a day of multidisciplinary consolidation of knowledge and upskilling for health practitioners providing care for older people living at home, receiving in-patient care, or living in residential aged care facilities.

Topics

• Royal Commission into Aged Care findings and recommendations.
• Overview of assessment of older people.
• Minding the Mind: Ageing, Cognitive Functioning, and Social and Emotional Wellbeing.
• Mobility, frailty, and exercise prescription for older adults.
• Understanding high risks medications in advanced age.

Workshops

You will be able to choose from two of the following workshops to attend:

Workshop 1: Minding the Mind: Ageing, Cognitive Functioning, and Social and Emotional Wellbeing

This workshop takes a culturally responsive approach in exploring normal and atypical ageing processes within the context of mental health. Content will cover normal cognitive decline in older persons, as contrasted to impairment in cognitive abilities (e.g., mild cognitive impairment, dementia, and delirium). An overview of assessment, and diagnosis for older persons with impaired cognitive function, and/or with psychological difficulties (e.g., depression, anxiety, loneliness, grief, loss and bereavement) will be provided. The workshop then focuses on evidence-based approaches that support mentally healthy ageing, including psychological interventions (e.g., CBT, ACT, and Life Review therapies), as well as a range of prevention strategies that reduce the risk, or delay the onset, of cognitive and psychological problems in older age.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• understand typical and atypical ageing processes, including mild cognitive impairment, and dementia
• apply a biopsychosocial framework to assessment and diagnostic processes
• understand psychosocial interventions and prevention strategies to enhance mentally healthy ageing.

Workshop 2: Mobility, frailty and exercise prescription for older adults

This workshop will allow you to develop your skills in conducting and interpreting assessments of frailty and mobility in older adults. Through case study analysis you will then work to explore best practice exercise prescription for improving strength, balance, and mobility, and the utilisation of appropriate strategies to enhance safe and effective participation in exercise. Finally, referral pathways and community resources will be discussed.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• apply frailty and mobility assessments to older adults
• implement evidence-based exercise prescription for frailty and mobility interventions for older adults
• apply strategies to facilitate safe mobility and exercise participation
• utilise resources and referral pathways available to older adults.

Workshop 3: Understanding high risk medications in advanced age

Many common use adult medications become high risk medications as the age of patients advance. This practical workshop will introduce the concept of Potentially Inappropriate Medicines (PIMs) to allied health clinicians. The workshop will explore physiological changes that occur with advancing age, discuss the highest risk and highest use medicine classes practitioners may be alert for in practice, and consider the potential responses to the use of high-risk medicines in patients with advanced age.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• understand the concept of Potentially Inappropriate Medications (PIMs) and the major risk of the use of these medicines in advanced age
• relate the age-related changes to the potential need for changes to medication profiles
• identify common use high-risk drugs in advanced age patients related to sedation and falls risk
• be able to source drug information on PIMs and understand strategies to reduce patient risk.

Scholarships

Scholarships are available to help meet the costs of attending. Click here to learn more about scholarships.

Places are limited. Register now. 

Download flyer Last updated: Wednesday 04 May 2022