Judy Frazer
Australian Multicultural Foundation, RMIT University

The Dementia Care Project ­ Reaching Home Carers

Abstract
This project was undertaken for carers of diverse cultural background, who are caring for people with dementia. The process of reaching home carers with a form of assistance and training that would be easy to access, and in appropriate language demanded a creative approach, taking into account low levels of education and literacy and English as well as the time limitations of the carer. An audiotaped conversational script was chosen, after a broad consultative process, first produced and trialled in one community language before being produced in seven others. It was reviewed by a number of ethnic community groups, academics, ethnic community council and nursing home operators and health professionals. The project has been recognised for its innovative and consultative nature in awards from RMIT University as well as the Australian Awards for University Teaching, and has been evaluated extremely positively by both home and professional carers.

Bionote
Judy Frazer is currently the manager of the Australian Multicultural Foundation's Aged Care Training Institute, a joint venture of the AMF and RMIT University. With extensive experience in the Education, Health and Community Services fields, Judy has worked in senior positions and managed projects in all these areas. She has experience in juvenile justice and unionism, and has worked with indigenous people, initiating and developing an ongoing relationship with a community and RMIT. She is committed to equity of access to community resources, particularly education. Judy's current position involves promoting and providing cultural diversity training to workers in the aged care field, and developing resources to train and assist people of diverse cultural and linguistic background in the care of the multicultural aged in Australia.

Presentation Type
30 min paper