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Paulene Mackell

Realising the potential of remote art centres to support older Aboriginal people and people living with dementia within the context of Consumer Directed Care

Portrait of Dr Paulene Mackell
  • Award

    Consumer Priority PhD Scholarship

  • Status

    In progress

  • Start Date

    26 February 2018

About the project

Paulene Mackell's PhD is embedded within a project being led by the National Ageing Research Institute. The project is exploring and building on the ways that art centres, located in remote communities are supporting older Aboriginal people and people living with dementia. Approximately a third of artists using the centres are older than 55 and may be eligible to access aged care services. The project will identify and trial new ways for local organisations to work collaboratively in settings where access to services can be limited and the rates of dementia, and other conditions associated with ageing, are higher than the general population. 

The PhD project will examine how the project’s use of methodology facilitates these opportunities and aims to contribute new knowledge for aged care providers, researchers, funders and policy makers. Overall, it is hoped that the project builds an understanding of what is required to increase culturally appropriate service options in remote Australia for older Aboriginal people, their families, carers and communities.

Where are they now?

Paulene Mackell has been a Research Fellow at the National Ageing Research Institute since 2012. During this time, Paulene has led a number of projects on improving care for older people in hospital and have facilitated a number of research translation activities in the Kimberley region of WA.

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Last updated
8 December 2023