Short course
Dementia Friendly Eyecare
What you will learn
Overview
"I liked how realistic the case studies are as we do encounter these regularly in aged care facility visits. I wished it had been around when I first started working with people living with dementia as the resource would have been extremely helpful!"
This training program aims to provide eyecare professionals with the knowledge and techniques to confidently provide dementia-friendly eye examinations and eyecare. This addresses learning needs we identified during our research about provision of eyecare for people living with dementia.
Optometrists told us that they wanted to know more about dementia, and how to adapt their approach to accommodate different levels of cognitive impairment. Addressing these learning needs helps optometrists provide high-quality eyecare to people living with dementia, maximising vision for daily activities to reduce falls risk and maintain independence.
Dementia Advocates (people with lived experience of dementia or being a carer) helped us develop this course: Natalie Ive, Karen and Kerin Glennen, and Elena Donati all reviewed the course objectives, derived from our research interviews with people living with dementia, carers and optometrists. They also reviewed quotes and case scenarios to ensure they sensitively represent people with dementia and carers. All case scenarios have been developed using the Alzheimer Europe Guidelines for the ethical and inclusive portrayal of dementia and people with dementia.
Designed For
This course is designed for registered optometrists who are seeing increasing numbers of people living with dementia in community practice, or thinking of providing services to residential aged care.
For optometrists who are seeing people with dementia very occasionally and would like just a few tips, we recommend consulting our Chairside Reference published in Optometry Connection in November 2023, or our handy online tip sheet.
Other interested eyecare professionals such as orthoptists and ophthalmologists may also find content relevant to their practice, although tailoring of this course for these professional groups is planned in future.
Learning Outcomes
- Understand the importance and role of eyecare professionals in supporting the quality of life of people living with dementia
- Provide high-quality eyecare for people living with dementia, through appropriate communication, adaptation of clinical tests, and consideration of others involved in dementia care
- Have the confidence to deliver a positive eyecare experience for people living with dementia
Course Units
- Introduction to dementia
- Communicating with people living with dementia
- Adapting eye examinations for people living with dementia
- Management considerations for people living with dementia
- "Good days and bad days"
- Additional support and resources
Delivery Mode
This course is delivered 100% online and can be accessed using a web browser.
Knowledge and Skills
- Knowledge about dementia types
- Knowledge about communication difficulties arising in dementia
- Knowledge about responsive behaviours arising in dementia
- Knowledge about components of the eye examination that may be affected by dementia
- Knowledge about aspects of visual function that may be affected by dementia
- Skills to adapt communication to accommodate cognitive impairment and responsive behaviours during clinical consultations
- Skills to adapt testing to accommodate cognitive impairment and responsive behaviours during clinical consultations
- Skills to adapt management of eye conditions and refractive error to accommodate dementia
Accreditation
This online course has been approved for OA Institute of Excellence Quality Assurance by Optometry Australia and contains 5.5 CPD points.
Eyecare professionals registered with the Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board (ODOB) New Zealand can achieve CPD credits by uploading the completion certificate upon completing all modules in the course. Each module's ODOB CPD number is listed in the respective Overview section.
Course Co-ordinators
Dr Marianne Coleman
Orthoptist
Marianne is an early career researcher and orthoptist. Marianne worked in the UK National Health Service and later trained in clinical research, including visual psychophysics with a focus on binocular vision and amblyopia. Marianne moved to the University of Melbourne in 2020 to work as a Clinical Vision Research Fellow, between the Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, and the Australian College of Optometry's National Vision Research Institute. Marianne now works at the National Centre for Healthy Ageing, a collaboration between Monash University and Peninsula Health. Marianne's pioneering dementia research has been funded by the UK Royal Society of Medicine, Fight for Sight (the UK's leading sight loss research charity) and the Dementia Australia Research Foundation. Her research has been guided at each stage by people living with dementia and carers.
Dr Bao Nguyen
Optometrist
Optometrist
Bao is a Senior Research Fellow at The University of Melbourne. She holds a Bachelor of Optometry (2008), PhD (2014) and Graduate Certificate in Adolescent Health and Wellbeing (2021) from The University of Melbourne, and a Certificate in Public Health and Leadership in Eye Care (2024) from the Australian College of Optometry. Bao’s expertise is in applied human visual neuroscience focusing on the eye and the brain, spanning healthy development and ageing, neurodegeneration and neurological disorders. She is a passionate advocate for optometry education, previously serving on the Education Committee and as an Education Consultant for Optometry Australia. She is the first optometrist to be awarded the BioMedVic Early Career Clinician Researcher Award (2017).
Course Content Contributors
Dr Alissa Westphal
Occupational Therapist
Alissa is a Lecturer in Dementia Care and Registered Occupational Therapist with extensive experience in aged psychiatry and dementia care. She has special interests in: meaningful engagement for older people; understanding and responding to behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) using non-pharmacological approaches; the use of technology to support engagement; improving the skills of carers and health professionals to engage people living with dementia and more effectively understand and respond to BPSD using a person centered and holistic approach.
Dr Alyssa Lie
Optometrist
Alyssa obtained a Bachelor of Optometry (2015) and PhD (2021) from the University of Auckland in New Zealand, where she currently holds joint appointments as a Lecturer and Research Fellow. Her primary area of research is biomarker detection for age-related eye disease. In 2024, Alyssa was the inaugural recipient of the Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Foundation Research Catalyst Award. Outside of the university, she regularly serves as a specialist facilitator on eye conditions for the Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand and occasionally locums for a private ophthalmology clinic.
Fees
Course Fee:
The course is online, self-paced, and ready when you are — start anytime.
You will have access to all course materials for a full 12 months.
$484 AUD (inc GST)
Please contact Student Support if you have any enquiries.
Groups of 20+
Discounted group rates are available for groups of 20 or more students.
For enquiries, please reach out to us at mobile-learning@unimelb.edu.au.
Course details
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