Australia has an ageing population. More of us are living longer, increasing the demand for specialised aged care, including for mental health conditions . However, support is not always available when it’s needed. Many clinicians working with people in aged care lack appropriate mental health care training and knowledge. To address this growing issue, Swinburne University’s Wellbeing Clinic for Older Adults is developing an innovative web portal that will train clinicians to deliver specialist psychological care in residential aged care homes.
Powered by cutting-edge AI technology and accelerated by a $49,991 grant from Telematics Trust, Swinburne’s project will help upskill Victoria’s mental health workforce to address this critical training gap. By enriching the quality of psychological treatments within the aged care sector, Swinburne is working towards a society where some of the most vulnerable and frail Victorians get the care they need to remain mentally resilient – well into their twilight years.
Addressing the need for targeted care
In 2021, the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety found that 60% of aged care residents in Australia live with significant mental health conditions, including depression or anxiety. In Victoria, around 200 mental health clinicians working in aged care settings are tasked with providing support to approximately 50,000 aged care residents. There are clear opportunities to strengthen existing training programs and, in doing so, improve outcomes for Victorians living in aged care by reducing the risk of fragmented care, misdiagnosis, and the under-treatment of residents.
Swinburne’s training portal project is intent on turning this around and will be designed to adapt training to the existing knowledge of clinicians. The learning experience will be personalised for each psychologist, social worker, counsellor and mental health nurse, thanks to built-in AI and smart algorithm technology. By adapting to each user’s unique level, discipline and prior experience, the training will be engaging, immediately applicable and relevant to the clinician’s development needs.
Specialist training for advanced age depression, anxiety, delirium as well as dementia and Alzheimer's care will be delivered in a targeted way to professionals with the most to gain. The result: enhanced skills, confidence, and capacity of Victoria’s mental health workforce and, ultimately, better outcomes for elderly Victorians.
Equal care for complex cases
Telematics grant funding means Swinburne can ensure their groundbreaking training portal can be used across phones, tablets and laptops, maximising its reach and scalability. As a web-based portal, the training available can be continuously updated and delivered to clinicians no matter where they are – so that residents in regional aged care facilities receive the same standard of care as their metropolitan counterparts.
Sunil Bhar, Professor of Clinical Psychology, commented on the support provided by Telematics Trust to this project:
“More than 50% of aged care residents in Australia live with significant mental health problems, yet less than 10% receive psychological treatment. These treatments are effective, but uptake remains low. Residents live with multiple physical, cognitive and mental health conditions and therefore require clinicians who can tailor treatment to accommodate this complexity. However, there are very few training opportunities for clinicians to develop this specialised knowledge.
Our training portal, made possible by the Telematics Trust, aims to close this gap. We use AI to customise training for novice, intermediate and advanced learners across disciplines, including psychologists, nurses, social workers, counsellors and occupational therapists. While still in its early stages, the project shows promise in improving workforce capability through personalised, practical and scalable education. We are grateful to the Telematics Trust for making this innovative work possible.”
Thousands of hours of support
The mental health training portal represents another step in Swinburne’s Wellbeing Clinic for Older Adults support of the aged care sector. As Australia’s largest university-based mental health service for aged care residents, the clinic has delivered thousands of treatment hours and trained hundreds of mental health clinicians in the aged-care sector since 2011.