Welcome to Dementia STARs®

Come and join the Dementia STARs journey to reinforce great person-centred dementia care at your place.

Dementia STARs stands for Short Trainings in Awareness and Responsiveness. 
We are delighted to offer eight Dementia STARs modules, each introducing a person-centred approach to a key element of care when supporting people living with dementia. 
 
For each module we offer 

a pre-recorded video presentation for self-paced individual learning

a facilitator's kit with all the resources needed to run an engaging group education session

The content is pitched at a level that will be comfortable for all staff, especially kaiawhina (support-workers  / care-givers).

It is free to access the resources.
 

Dementia STARs education are a partnership between the New Zealand Dementia Foundation and the CHT Healthcare Trust Aged Care Fund. The CHT Healthcare Trust Aged Care Fund provides grants for projects that aim to improve the wellbeing of older people through access to care, research into their needs, and workforce development. 

We are proud to fund the NZ Dementia Foundation’s development and delivery of Dementia STARs and believe these resources will make a real difference to the lives of people living with dementia and those who care for them.

- Carriann Hall, Chief Executive, CHT Healthcare Trust

 

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Bathing and Dementia

Personal care tasks like a bath or shower can be hard when supporting a person living with dementia. Care-workers around the world say that this can be one of the hardest parts of the job. In this session we think about bathing from a person-centred perspective covering: the invitation, the experience, and stepping back.
Facilitator's Kit and Webinar

Senses and dementia

Making the most of sensory experiences can be an opportunity to add pleasure and joy into the day and to bring comfort and reduce stress for people living with dementia. In this session we think about: sensory preferences, sensory challenges in dementia, and how to develop a sensory toolkit for each individual we are supporting.
Facilitator's Kit and Webinar

Pain and dementia

We know that pain is common among people living with dementia, but it is often under-recognised and under-treated. In this session we learn a simple reminder about being pain aware when we are supporting people living with dementia: O.U.C.H. That stands for Observe, Understand, Communicate, and Help.
Facilitator's Kit and Webinar

Eating well and Dementia

Eating well is important for the health and wellbeing of us all, and this is certainly true for people living with dementia. In this session we'll think about the practical side of how to support people living with dementia to eat enough by encouraging, enabling, and adapting.
Facilitator's Kit and Webinar

Continence and Dementia

Staying continent for as long as possible is something that we all want to do. This session covers some of the ways that we can help make this possible for the people living with dementia that we support.            
Facilitator's Kit and Webinar

Hydration and Dementia

Every cell in our body needs water to function. Dehydration is common among people living with dementia, especially older people. In this session we cover three key messages: Don't wait, hydrate, and stick to thick when needed. 
Facilitator's Kit and Webinar

Falls and Dementia

In this session we'll cover some common sense ways that to help reduce the risk of falls for people living with dementia. We will explore how we can move, improve, and remove to address common reasons people fall. We’ll talk about two important ways we can put this in action: before we leave and after every fall. 
Facilitator's Kit and Webinar

Delirium and Dementia

Delirium is a serious and common condition, it can be thought of as an acute brain failure. People living with dementia have a much greater risk of developing delirium. In this session we cover how to suspect, support and prevent delirium.
Facilitator's Kit and Webinar