Just Ask Annie
With almost half a million Australians living with dementia – which is projected to increase to 1.1 million people by 2058 – there must be greater focus on quality dementia care and ensuring continued training and support for the workforce.
Ask Annie is a Dementia Australia mobile app that offers short, self-paced learning modules to help care workers refresh their skills and learn tips and tools to provide better care to people living with dementia.
Ask Annie was designed in collaboration with care workers like Anthony, who says it is a great tool to provide that extra bit of assistance to care workers.
“As a support worker, we’re there to give assistance to our clients and if we can get assistance ourselves in the way we do our job and try different things I think that can only be a positive and a benefit,” he said.
“Ask Annie can provide that extra bit of assistance that a support worker might need in their daily tasks – a different approach, different method and greater assistance out there in the workplace.”
Apps like Ask Annie make ongoing workforce training more accessible and convenient for care workers across the country.
‘Annie’ is a virtual care worker providing support to a person living with dementia. She guides users through a range of scenarios to strengthen their dementia care skills.
Each module takes approximately five minutes to complete. There are more than 50 modules so far, and the app is constantly growing.
For example, a care worker might be having some challenges with a particular client when it comes to helping them get dressed. This could cause the care worker and the client some stress, as well as impact on their time and ability to complete other tasks. The care worker would be encouraged to work through the relevant modules and do a five-minute refresher before going in to see the client.
Ask Annie can be downloaded individually via the Google Play Store or Apple App Store to access the first three modules.
To unlock the full application with access to all modules, the cost is $60 per person per year with multi-license packages available for organisation. For information on purchasing packages please email cdl@dementia.org.au
For more detail on Ask Annie, please visit dementia.org.au/professionals/professional-development-and-training/ask-annie
Dementia Australia extends its appreciation to Gandel Foundation and the Gandel family for the multi-year Flagship Grant that made Ask Annie possible. The grant funded the design, development and build of the app and the creation of the home and community care modules.
Dementia Australia thanks the Rosemary Norman Foundation for funding the development of additional modules tailored for care workers in residential aged care.
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