Nathan D'Cunha

The availability and accessibility of post-diagnostic support for people living with dementia and their carers is of central importance in dementia care. People with dementia and their carers require access to timely education, emotional and practical support, lifestyle advice and meaningful activities, to maximise their quality of life and to potentially delay cognitive decline. The period following a dementia diagnosis is a critical area of opportunity for healthcare providers to facilitate access to this type of care. Unfortunately, framework to support the implementation of this care is currently lacking.

Allied health professionals at Canberra Health Services at the University of Canberra Rehabilitation Hospital and the University of Canberra have designed an evidence-based 12-week multicomponent program called SPICE (Sustainable Personalised Interventions for Cognition, Care, and Engagement), tailored to people living with dementia and carers. It includes physical activity, social engagement, nutrition assessment, education and capacity building.

Dr Nathan D’Cunha’s analysis of this program found it significantly improved quality of life for both people living with dementia and their carers. It also improved carer self-efficacy, functional capacity and reduced neuropsychiatric symptoms (such as agitation, mood and sleep disturbances) and carer distress related to these symptoms. A high level of engagement and attendance from participants demonstrated the SPICE program's ability to be implemented into routine care, with significant interest from other health jurisdictions and clinics. Dr D’Cunha’s future work will focus on creating an implementation guide and toolkit to assist health providers to incorporate SPICE into their services. Additionally, he will continue to lobby for ongoing sustainability of the SPICE program and work to establish a reduced SPICE version that enables former participants to continue to engage and benefit from this care.

Read more about this exciting project

D'Cunha, N. M., Bennett, M., Mitterfellner, R., Brennan, R., Wiseman, L., Isbel, S., Bail, K., Barrett, L., Rutherford, K., Huang, I., & Gibson, D. (2023). Preliminary Findings of an Active Multicomponent Lifestyle Intervention for People with Dementia and Their Carers: Mixed Methods Study. Health and Social Care in the Community, 2023, 1-13. DOI: 10.1155/2023/5395080

At the time of this award, Nathan D’Cunha was an Associate Professor at the University of Canberra (UC) with a research focus on non-pharmacological interventions for people with dementia and carers.