The Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, has a long history of delivering education through Massive Open Online Courses and award courses. This symposium explores the design and development of two new educational programs for the aged care sector: Equip Aged Care Learning and the Dementia Respite Education and Mentoring (DREAM) project.

Equip addressed 14 priority training areas for new and experienced staff in the aged care sector, while DREAM addressed dementia respite care. Both programs offer tailored online learning, DREAM included a virtual community of practice (CoP), and coaching.

Development of both programs was supported by community consultation, content experts and an Expert Advisory Committee. Both programs were free and delivered online to target aged care workers and organisations providing aged and dementia respite care in community and residential settings Australia wide, including those in rural settings. Program evaluation included achievement of intended learning outcomes, knowledge, attitudes, and translation of learnings into practice.

The objective of this symposium is to showcase the development and delivery of targeted education to meet the training needs of the aged care workforce. The presentations will guide attendees through the approaches used to identify knowledge gaps, address educational needs, as well as in the development, delivery, and evaluation of educational resources.

Four presentations will explore the design and delivery of EQUIP and DREAM. Delegates will learn about key design elements of EQUIP and DREAM education, the CoP, and coaching which impacted reach, engagement and uptake of the programs by the aged care workforce.

Dementia respite care is crucial in sustaining family/carer relationships, reducing carer stress, and helping people stay at home longer. DREAM coaching aims to equip respite care staff with knowledge and skills to identify and care for the unique needs of individuals with dementia. With support of the education and community of practice elements, coaching is a core component of DREAM. The rationale of the coaching element is to help staff translate knowledge into action: bridging the divide between the learning and work environment. DREAM demonstrates the potential of coaching to transform dementia respite care, enabling workers to provide empathetic, supportive, and enabling experiences for people living with dementia.

Dementia Support Coaches work with the aged care workforce to identify strengths, address challenges, and develop tailored approaches for a good respite care experience. Through coaching, participants gain confidence and skills to connect meaningfully with people living with dementia and their families/carers, ease transitions between settings and work towards contemporary best practice in behaviour support.

This presentation will share the project's coaching model, challenges, outcomes, and insights. We will showcase the effectiveness of the project in improving staff competency and enhancing the overall respite care experience. Valuable insights into the impact of coaching and mentoring on staff performance will be shared, paving the way for broader adoption and replication of similar initiatives in dementia care settings

To help address aged care workforce education needs, the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, developed and delivered Equip: free online learning packages designed for the introduction and orientation of staff entering the aged care sector, and refresher training packages for those already working in the sector.
All modules were designed with the close collaboration of subject matter experts, consumers, care providers and the Department of Health and Aged Care. They comprise a short, captioned video, complemented by additional resources and a downloadable infographic and certificate.
Equip has been taken up by more than 25,000 participants in all states and territories across urban, rural, and regional settings. Participants include experienced and new nurses, personal care workers, allied health professionals, students, volunteers, and managers from residential and community aged care and disability support services, prospective members of the aged care workforce and consumers.
Evaluation showed that participants found the modules easy to access, of the appropriate length and pitch. Participants achieved the learning outcomes and indicated that Equip led to improved understanding which translated to improved care.
Equip Aged Care Learning Packages offer an accessible, free, and user-friendly approach to addressing key training needs for prospective, new, and existing workers in the aged care sector and beyond. It is also a valuable resource for volunteers who are critical providers of care support, and it serves as a means to educate consumers about aged care to improve their engagement with the sector.

The Australian aged care workforce has historically lacked access to relevant, high-quality and accessible resources on best practice dementia respite care. This presentation will showcase the development and launch of an innovative online Community of Practice (CoP) tailored to the needs of the dementia respite workforce. A CoP is a dynamic virtual or face-to-face community that brings together people with a common interest to share knowledge and improve practice. Health-related CoPs have been found to contribute positively toward increased industry knowledge, engagement with industry peers, and ultimately improved healthcare outcomes. However, further evaluation is needed to fully understand the efficacy and impact of CoPs. The DREAM CoP is led by the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre in collaboration with Dementia Support Australia. The CoP comprises an online environment with features such as discussion boards, blogs, member spotlights, frequently asked questions, and resources to help promote best practice dementia respite care. This presentation will provide an overview of the process of developing, delivering and refining the CoP. It will share results from a Community of Practice User Needs Assessment to help understand the needs of the respite workforce nationally. It will also outline engagement statistics and trends to evaluate the extent of engagement by the respite workforce in the CoP. Strategies to address barriers and challenges to implementation of the CoP will be considered. Implications for the aged care respite workforce and future directions for the refinement of the Communities of Practice will be discussed.

The effectiveness of dementia respite services hinges upon the ability of care providers to address the complex needs of individuals with dementia. While the need for dementia education of the aged care workforce is widely recognised, the specific needs of the dementia respite workforce have not yet been considered.
To address the identified disparity, the Dementia Respite Education and Learning (DREAM) program has been developed, providing a tailored array of educational resources aimed at supporting dementia respite care. Additionally, participants of the program are afforded access to the EQUIP Aged Care Learning packages, enabling exploration of a wider range of relevant themes to aged care provision. The genesis of this initiative stemmed from a scoping review, which revealed the lack of educational materials for the dementia respite care workforce.
Dementia experts, aged care providers, and consumers were consulted to delve deeper into the gaps, leading to the identification of five key educational needs in respite care including Unpacking dementia, Knowing the person, Navigating behaviours, Relationships and communication, and Planning dementia respite care.
The educational content consists of concise 15-minute videos complemented by additional informative materials such as infographics. This presentation will outline the topic selection process and share initial findings on usability, accessibility, dementia knowledge, attitudes, and the application of acquired knowledge into practice.