Windows on dementia

Dementia Friendly Advisor Dr Meg Spriggs is joined by of the University of Auckland’s Dr Brigid Ryan to learn more about Young Onset Dementia, as we mark World Alzheimers Month 2023.

Let’s chat about... is our podcast series which gives experts working in dementia mate wareware across Aotearoa New Zealand an opportunity to chat about a topic and share some of the evidence available. In this episode, we’re joined by Annabel Grant, a Speech Language Therapist working at Massey University to chat about a few simple strategies to help a person living with dementia mate wareware wh...

Let’s chat about... is our podcast series which gives experts working in dementia mate wareware across Aotearoa New Zealand an opportunity to chat about a topic and share some of the evidence available. In this episode, we’re joined by Summerset's Dementia Specialist Shelley Kennedy to chat about a common phrase said by people living with dementia mate wareware in residential care homes: ‘I want t...

Let’s chat about... is our podcast series which gives experts working in dementia mate wareware across Aotearoa New Zealand an opportunity to chat about a topic and share some of the evidence available. In this episode, we’re joined by Ryman Healthcare Dementia Project Specialist Caroline Bartle and chatting about Personhood and why this is important for people and whānau living with dementia mate...

Feeling overwhelmed by all the election coverage? Join Alzheimers NZ Chief Executive Catherine Hall and Media Advisor Daniel Paul to explore why working closely with Government is crucial for people and whānau living with dementia mate wareware in the lead up to the 2023 General Election. We delve into how we work with Government, why it’s important and why you should care. This podcast was record...

Dementia Learning Centre director Dr Kathy Peri is joined by Dr Makarena Dudley and Dr Gary Cheung, of the University of Auckland, to learn more about our brains – just in time for Brain Awareness Month. The experts explore the latest research, the effect of Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) and what people can do to help keep their brains healthy.

Our frontline services are at breaking point. More funding is desperately needed to help people and whānau living with dementia mate wareware in Aotearoa New Zealand get the support they need. Government has already indicated their support with the implementation of the Dementia Mate Wareware Action Plan, and their support for healthy ageing in Te Pae Tata Interim New Zealand Health Plan. However,...

Join Dr Etu Ma’u to explore the reality of post-diagnostic care in Aotearoa, following the release of the World Alzheimer Report 2022.  Dr Ma’u highlights the need for more support – particularly for ethnic communities – throughout a person’s life. Dr Etu Ma’u is a senior lecturer at Auckland University, and a specialist old age psychiatrist at Waikato Hospital. 

The World Alzheimer Report 2022 highlights some of the challenges the sector is facing globally. There is a focus on the urgent need for significant improvements to essential post-diagnosis treatment, care, and support services. Adrienne Henderson and Tanya Lyders, who are both supporting their husbands, shared their stories with Alzheimers NZ to help people understand the urgent need for more pos...

With Covid restrictions easing and the virus not disappearing any time soon, what does the future hold for our older and more vulnerable communities? Here to talk to us is Dr Ngaire Kerse (NZOM), the inaugural Joyce Cook Chair in Aging Well at the University of Auckland, and a GP at the City Mission. She has looked after many people with dementia in primary and residential care, and actively resea...

Dementia consistently ranks as one of our most feared conditions. There is currently no cure for dementia, though researchers around the world are desperately searching for one. So why is it proving so hard? And how do we balance this with the urgent need for more care and support for people living with dementia today? Here to talk us through these issues is Professor Srikanth, Director of the Nat...

It's been a tough couple of weeks as more and more of us become affected by Covid-19. The numbers of people testing positive for the virus are rising steadily every day.  There can be no doubt that contracting Covid is a difficult experience for everyone. But what happens when you are also living with or supporting someone with dementia? In this episode, we hear from Sarah France, a Taranaki-based...

Dementia mate wareware is one of the greatest health challenges facing Aotearoa New Zealand. Around 70,000 New Zealanders live with dementia right now, which is set to more than double by 2050. This increase is expected to be much faster for Māori, Pasifika and Asian communities. In September, Alzheimers NZ launched the Dementia Economic Impact Report 2020, produced by a team of researchers from t...

Champion for Dementia Dame Kerry Prendergast discusses how dementia has impacted her life, and what needs to be done to better prepare New Zealand for the sharp increase in people living with dementia. Both her parents lived with dementia, and her husband Rex has recently been diagnosed with vascular dementia.

Communication can be a big challenge for people living with dementia. As the journey of dementia progresses, people can find it more and more difficult to express themselves clearly, and to understand what others say.  But as we all know, there’s much more to communication than just words.  As a Champion for Dementia and writer, Kate De Goldi knows first hand the importance of communication, and t...

People living with dementia face enormous challenges, not least of which is their right to make the decisions that are important to them. In this episode, we talk to Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero about ways we can better support the rights of people living with dementia.  As New Zealand’s Disability Rights Commissioner, Paula’s role to protect and promote the rights of disabled Ne...

In 2019, Te Manawa Museum of Art, Science and Heritage became Aotearoa New Zealand’s very first dementia friendly museum. Te Manawa achieved this accreditation through Alzheimers NZ’s Dementia Friendly Recognition Programme. They are amongst a growing list of Kiwi businesses and organisations who are taking this positive step. Janet Ellery leads Te Manawa’s People and Partnerships and talks to us...

A recent international report has found that dementia design is 30 years behind the physical disabilities movement. The World Alzheimer Report 2020, released by Alzheimers Disease International, calls on governments around the world to take action, and include design solutions in their responses to dementia.  Dementia is a disability, one that is going to become more of an issue for our communitie...

Presenter: Lyneta Russell Guests: Alison Douglass, Greg Young and John McMillan The book, Assessment of Mental Capacity: A guide for Doctors and lawyers, can be found here: https://vup.victoria.ac.nz/assessment-of-mental-capacity-a-new-zealand-guide-for-doctors-and-lawyers/

Dr Makarena Dudley is a senior lecturer at Auckland University, and recipient of this year’s Alzheimers NZ Research Fellowship. One of only four Māori neuropsychologists in the country, Dr Dudley is investigating the interface of dementia and Māori. Her studies include developing a screening tool for detecting dementia in Māori and a theory of dementia from a Māori worldview. The work is based on...

Kate De Goldi's blog series: Part 1 Part 2

Dementia affects almost four out of five of us in some way. By 2050 it will cost the country nearly $5 billion a year. Astonishingly, and despite these sad facts, there is no concrete government action plan on the horizon to deal with this urgent and growing health care challenge, a challenge that has been further exposed by Covid-19. Covid-19 has not caused this problem. It has merely brought int...