Windows on dementia

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 when they are lost for words. 

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 to go home’. 

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 wareware.

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 recorded on 2 June 2023.

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, there is still more work to be done in the lead up to the 2023 election.

We’re joined by Alzheimers South Canterbury services manager Rosie Chambers and Alzheimers Tauranga/Western Bay of Plenty general manager Glenn Bradley to hear their insights about what’s really happening on the ground.  

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 post-diagnostic support in Aotearoa. 

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 researches ways to prevent dementia and make the lives of those with dementia and their carers better.

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 National Centre for Healthy Ageing (NCHA), and Director of Research at Peninsula Health. He is also Professor of Medicine in the Central Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University, Melbourne Australia. He works clinically as a specialist Geriatrician with particular expertise in dementia and stroke.