Nurse Donelle Kralovic couldn’t be happier after swapping bustling Melbourne for central Queensland — where she manages the only aged care facility in the town of Biloela. Donelle, a registered nurse with a Master of Nursing, is now Service Manager of Lutheran Services’ Wahroonga Aged Care, a 54-bed site, 570 km northwest of Brisbane. When her partner’s work took him north in 2022, the family, including two young sons, leapt at the opportunity to move to the small town with just three sets of traffic lights. Donelle, who began her career as an enrolled nurse in the aged care sector 20 years a ..read more

Research conducted by COTA Australia has found that nearly 40% of Australians aged 55+ have delayed or put off a dental visit due to cost. That number increases to 44% of older Australians on lower incomes, which includes many pensioners and those in aged care. The research, released to mark World Oral Health Day also showed that 73% of all Australians support the introduction of a Seniors Dental Benefits Scheme — a scheme that would give older Australians who need it access to quality, affordable dental care — and four in five people believe dental care should be covered by Medicare. COTA Au ..read more

A new study at the University of Gothenburg is testing the potential for a digital memory test and a blood sample to identify early Alzheimer’s disease. If this combination of the tools works to detect early signs of disease in the general population, the hope is that they will be used in primary care in the future to follow individuals over time and identify Alzheimer’s with greater certainty and much earlier than is often the case today. The REAL AD study will include over 100 healthcare centres, and is now inviting participants to sign up. It will examine people aged 50–80 who do not have ..read more

A new report has been released by Dementia Australia, marking 25 years in research support and innovation. The More than a Cure: 25 Years of Impact report highlights some of the more than 380 game-changing research projects that have advanced due to more than $31 million provided by the Dementia Australia Research Foundation over the past quarter century. Dementia Australia Research Foundation Chair and Dementia Australia Patron Professor Graeme Samuel AC said the Foundation had spent 25 years funding revolutionary projects to expedite medical breakthrough and to improve the lives of people l ..read more

A human muscle map has revealed the processes behind age-related muscle deterioration, and the mechanisms to counteract them. As humans age, their muscles progressively weaken. This can affect the ability to perform everyday activities like standing up and walking. For some people, muscle loss worsens, leading to falls, immobility, a loss of autonomy and a condition called sarcopenia. However, the reasons why muscles weaken over time have remained poorly understood. The human muscle map, published in Nature Aging, uncovers new cell populations that may explain why some muscle fibres age faste ..read more

Many LGBTI older people are fearful of engaging with the aged care system and may delay or avoid contact with services. However, aged care providers that deliver inclusive care for LGBTI older people can now have their service recognised via the My Aged Care Provider Specialisation Verification Framework. “For some LGBTI older people there is a fear of institutional care. That you will have to hide, to go back into the closet again,” said one 71-year-old transgender woman, considering her options for aged care services. To help combat this, many home aged care organisations are working to be ..read more

Promising real-world links between common HIV drugs and a reduced incidence of Alzheimer’s disease have been uncovered by scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys. Alzheimer's disease (AD) currently afflicts nearly seven million people in the US. With this number expected to grow to nearly 13 million by 2050, the lack of meaningful therapies represents a major unmet medical need. Jerold Chun, professor at the Center for Genetic Disorders and Aging Research at Sanford Burnham Prebys has led new research that builds on his lab’s landmark publication in Nature in 2018 that described how somatic gene ..read more

Australia’s aged care sector is on the cusp of its biggest shake-up in 27 years. A brand new Aged Care Act, which prioritises high-quality care and is centred on the rights and needs of older citizens, is due to roll out later this year. Stemming from the recommendations laid out in the 2021 Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, this new Act seeks to address the shortcomings of the outdated 1997 Aged Care Act, deemed unfit for purpose today. The new Aged Care Act brings extensive changes across many areas of care. This article focuses only on the new statutory duties and penalty ..read more

A new Australian study has uncovered some surprising factors that may reduce the risk of developing dementia. Published in Preventive Medicine Reports, the Monash University study found that living in areas with shorter distances to greenspace and lower crime rates are associated with having fewer modifiable dementia risk factors. It found a doubling of distance to greenspace was equal to being about 2.5 years older, in terms of dementia risk factors. Each twofold increase in crime was approximately equal to a reduction in memory score attributable to a three-year increase in age. This relati ..read more

Six nurses from Whiddon’s Easton Park site have each celebrated 15 years of service with the provider. The six women started with Whiddon on the same day in 2009, and 15 years on have celebrated their combined 90 years of service. Elfreda Desouza, Princess Mansaray, Patricia Quinn, Maribeth Santiago, Elvira Tuazon and Rosemary Wallace all first joined Whiddon as Assistants in Nursing (AINs). While initially brought together by a collective induction date, all quickly developed a close connection, bonding over their shared passion for rich and rewarding care. For the women, a love of helping p ..read more