Clare Wilding

La Trobe University · John Richards Centre for Rural Ageing Research

Caring for people living with dementia often leads to social isolation and decreased support for caregivers. This study investigated the effect of a Virtual Dementia-Friendly Rural Communities (Verily Connect) model on social support and demand for caregivers of people living with dementia. The co-designed intervention entailed an integrated websit...

Background: Empathy is a critical skill required by disability workers. Virtual reality may increase access to staff training to foster empathy. Method: A mixed methods feasibility study investigated a custom-built virtual reality program, IMercyVE, which aimed to immerse a disability worker in a first-person perspective of having intellectual d...

Background Informal carers play a significant role in supporting people living with dementia; however, carers in rural areas are often isolated, with limited access to support services. Although dementia-friendly communities provide valued support for carers, access to them is limited as they are few and geographically dispersed. Objective This st...

There is great potential for human-centred technologies to enhance wellbeing for people living with dementia and their carers. The Virtual Dementia Friendly Rural Communities (Verily Connect) project aimed to increase access to information, support, and connection for carers of rural people living with dementia, via a co-designed, integrated websit...

BACKGROUND Informal carers play a significant role in supporting people living with dementia; however, carers in rural areas are often isolated, with limited access to support services. Although dementia-friendly communities provide valued support for carers, access to them is limited as they are few and geographically dispersed. OBJECTIVE This st...

During 2017-2019, we conducted a randomized stepped-wedge cluster trial of an online program to increase ease of access to information and support for caregivers of a person living with dementia in rural Australia. The program, called Virtual Dementia Friendly Rural Communities (Verily) Connect, was innovative; it consisted of a custom-designed web...

Delivering dementia care in rural Australia remains a challenge. Large geographical area, small population, and lack of skilled workforce cause inequity in health outcomes for people living in rural areas. While a third of older people live outside metropolitan areas, the proportion of older people is higher and 40% of people with dementia reside i...

As the number of people affected by dementia continues to rise, this is the first in-depth examination of related services dedicated to the unique demands of remote and rural settings. Contributors from the UK, Australia, North America and Europe explore the experiences and requirements of those living with dementia and those caring for them in per...

Objective: This study investigates how rural community-dwelling older adults' views on what is important in maintaining health and wellbeing align with the eight age-friendly domains proposed by the World Health Organisation, and which domains are most salient. Design: Data were gathered through open-ended response postcards distributed using a...

Occupational decision-making is currently a nascent term in occupational science literature but we contend it has potential conceptual salience to the field. Occupational decision-making can be understood as a situated process through which individuals, families, or groups respond to a contextually driven cluster of opportunities and choices in ord...

Objective The support and service needs of people with dementia and their carers are not always addressed in rural regions, yet family carers play an important role in supporting the person living with dementia to remain living in their own home. This study sought to identify and prioritise service and support needs of people with dementia and care...

Identifying and locating appropriate services within a fragmented health systems can be challenging and frustrating due to lack of knowledge on local services (Gorska et al). Rural communities are particularly impacted over long distance travel to access services (Umstattd et al). A smartphone app has the potential to ease service navigation and co...

Background: Transition is a common experience; yet, there is a lack of understanding about how transition impacts middle-aged adults with a longstanding disability. Methods: Qualitative methods were used within a needs analysis design. Narrative data were collected via an online or postal written survey and phone or face-to-face interviews, which...

Purpose: The purpose of this manuscript is to identify key elements of allied health clinical supervision based on allied health practitioner's experiences. Method: This study was conducted with qualitative methodology, including content analysis, and draws on hermeneutic interpretation of texts. Data were collected through an online survey in an A...

The purpose of this manuscript is to identify key elements of allied health clinical supervision based on allied health practitioner’s experiences. Method: This study was conducted with qualitative methodology, including content analysis, and draws on hermeneutic interpretation of texts. Data were collected through an online survey in an Australian...

Clinical supervision is presented as a complex set of skills that may broadly apply to any and all allied health professions. However, it is also noted that a clear understanding of clinical supervision and how to implement it in allied health is currently lacking. It is argued that there is a need to reflect upon current approaches to clinical sup...

An important professional issue for occupational therapy is the need to develop and maintain high-quality occupational therapy services. Clearly, a strong educational foundation is necessary, but not sufficient, for meeting this goal. Occupational therapists need to engage in ongoing education, professional development and critique of their theory...

This article reports some preliminary findings of an Australian action research project that aimed to investigate, and affect, occupational therapists' understanding of human rights theory and occupational justice philosophy in everyday occupational therapy practice. Over the course of one year, nine therapists from a range of practice areas in a m...

Anecdotally, occupational therapists have identified problems of lack of professional recognition. This situation can mean that health service users' occupational needs are unmet and it can also cause difficulties for the profession of occupational therapy. Therefore, the study described in this paper aimed to better understand the issues of descri...

In this article, it is argued that in order to meet the profession's ethical and moral obligations, occupational therapists need to ensure that they are connected to the philosophical foundations of occupational therapy. By making occupational therapy practice occupation-focused, therapists guarantee that they provide a unique and valuable contribu...

This article presents findings from a participatory action research study into the experience and use of occupation, theory and evidence in the everyday practice of a group of occupational therapists working in a large metropolitan hospital delivering a range of acute services, in Melbourne, Australia. Narrative data gathered from 11 individual int...

Background/aim: This paper investigates the relationship between productive occupation and mental well-being for young people with a mental illness. In doing so, it aims to increase the understanding of applying occupation therapeutically. Methods: Four young people who experienced mental illness were interviewed about their engagement in productiv...

In the past 10-20 years there has been increasing interest in the relationship between spirituality and health. I interviewed six patients from community mental health centres, using a phenomenological approach to explore how concepts of spirituality, occupation and mental illness/mental health are related. One person's story is presented to illust...

Aims: This article presents some preliminary findings from an action research study into the everyday practice of a group of occupational therapists working in a large metropolitan hospital delivering a range of acute services. Methods and Findings: Narrative data gathered from 10 individual interviews were analysed through numerous iterative cycle...

Spirituality has been recognized as an important part of nursing practice since its early beginnings. However, debate continues about whether and how nurses and other mental health professionals should include spirituality within their daily work. This paper aims to contribute to the discussion of spirituality within mental health nursing, through...

This paper describes an innovative multi-disciplinary pilot project for people living in rural north-east Victoria and southern New South Wales that focused on screening for diabetes complications. Participants enrolled for the diabetes screening through media announcements. A total of 91 participants were screened, 14 with diabetes. Screening test...

Phenomenological research has become increasingly popular in occupational therapy in recent years. However, phenomenological inquiry is one of the most philosophically and theoretically complex research traditions, many aspects of which remain poorly understood. This article is intended for individuals either interested in or about to conduct pheno...

Background and Aim: This article provides an overview of a phenomenological investigation of spirituality with six people who have experienced mental illness. The study aimed to gain a greater understanding of the phenomenon of spirituality and its relationships to occupation and the experience of mental illness. Methods and Results: Participants w...

The MentorLink program of facilitated mentoring is an OT AUSTRALIA Victoria (Australian Association of Occupational Therapists - Victoria Inc.) initiative, which aimed to meet the need of occupational therapists, as expressed at the Victorian Occupational Therapy State Conference in 1997, for more professional support and assistance to be provided...

MentorLink arose as a creative response to requests for more professional support from the members of OT AUSTRALIA Victoria. The project organises recruitment, matching, training and support for occupational therapists engaged in mentoring partnerships across the state of Victoria and its borders with other Australian states. An evaluation of Mento...