Island of hope to the world THE WICKING CENTRE WILL RECRUIT 20,000 PARTICIPANTS FOR A WORLD-FIRST STUDY Tasmania is a small island that thinks big. This is no more evident than in its world-leading approach to tackling dementia, one of the main causes of death and disability in Australia. An ambitious, world-first project aims to use the population of Tasmania as a “test bed” for reducing the incidence of dementia in the entire population. The Island Study Linking Ageing and Neurodegenerative Disease (ISLAND) project aims to illustrate how we can ‘self-manage’ behaviours that can increase the risk of dementia. While the most significant risk factor associated with dementia is ageing, international research indicates that behavioural changes, such as adjusting diet and exercise routines, improving social contact or pursuing further education, could prevent one third of dementia cases.
The Wicking’s Director Professor James Vickers said it was the first dementia study in the world to target a whole population through a public health and educational campaign. “We’re really looking at using the entire state of Tasmania as a test bed to see if we can reduce the risk of dementia,” Professor Vickers said. “If this approach proves to be successful in engaging a substantial number of participants, the ISLAND approach can be extended nationally and internationally. “The ISLAND includes a focus on factors such as blood pressure, smoking and physical activity, important factors for a range of health conditions in addition to dementia, so there may be wider benefits for being involved in the program, especially in the area of chronic illness.”
The ISLAND project, run by the University of Tasmania’s Wicking Dementia and Research Centre, will recruit 20,000 participants. Tasmania is ideally placed for the bold experiment that could result in improving the health of current and future generations. It has one of the oldest populations in Australia and high rates of known modifiable risk factors. The ISLAND project offers participants free evidence-based education, via the highly successful Preventing Dementia online course. The Wicking Centre Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are recognised as world class, and so far more than 450,000 people have enrolled in them.
Tania Nelson Image: Peter W. Allen A YE AR IN REVIEW 2020
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