Win $2000 and help make a difference to people with dementia

01 Mar 2018

The first prize is $2000, second prize is $1000 and third prize is $500. Each prize is awarded in both second and third year streams. The first 100 entries will receive a free subscription to the Australian Journal of Dementia Care, worth $99 a year. In the last competition, nursing...

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Students can win $2000 and make a difference to dementia.

Almost half a million Australians are living with dementia and Dementia Training Australia is inviting undergraduate students to help make a difference.

Second and third year undergraduate students from any discipline can win prizes up to $2000 in the National Dementia Storytelling Competition. Students are invited to submit a story about how they, as individual practitioners or within their profession, can contribute to the care of people with dementia. Students have until Friday 6 April 2018 to submit entries in a medium of their choice; for example essay, short story, video, short film, animation, infographic. This is a national dementia awareness initiative run by DTA, which is funded by the Federal Government to provide dementia training and education across Australia.

DTA Executive Director Richard Fleming said: “There are almost half a million Australians living with dementia, including more than 50 per cent of residents in government-subsidised aged care.

“We believe a different approach is needed. In this competition we ask students to explore a ‘salutogenic’ approach to caring for people living with dementia.

“This is a new approach in dementia care, focusing on factors that support health and wellbeing, and opportunities for a person with dementia to live as full a life as possible.”

The first prize is $2000, second prize is $1000 and third prize is $500. Each prize is awarded in both second and third year streams. The first 100 entries will receive a free subscription to the Australian Journal of Dementia Care, worth $99 a year.

In the last competition, nursing student Teagan Bewick from Edith Cowan University and dental science student Danica Zhan from The University of Queensland won the top two prizes. Entries were received from 19 universities across Australia and more than 17 different fields of study were represented including occupational therapy, psychology, medicine, marketing, nutrition and design.

This is the first year the initiative, previously an essay competition, will take a multi-media approach.For more information and how to apply please visit dta.com.au/storytellingcomp or email dta@uow.edu.au.

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