Service providers and family members that care for people with dementia from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds can get some simple and helpful advice from a new resources developed by Frontier Services.

NT Dementia Behaviour Management Advisory Service (DBMAS) worked in partnership with Linkcare, a program run by Anglicare NT, to produce a poster and brochure on the steps to take when someone with dementia is behaving differently.

DBMAS Program Manager Mary Ingrames said the resource would help carers identify what the person’s behaviour indicates and what strategies could be put in place.

“It is a visual and simple resource that will help people deal with some of the different, and at times challenging, behaviours related to dementia,” said Mary.

The brochure was launched on Friday, 19 April, with an afternoon tea for 40 people at Carers NT in Darwin.

NT DBMAS has previously produced this resource for carers working with people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds.  

The new design for the brochure and poster came about when Linkcare saw the need for a similar resource that could assist services which care for people from different cultural backgrounds.

“We sat down with Linkcare and talked about the important things to think about when caring for someone from a different cultural background,” said Mary.

The brochure provides simple advice for health professionals to overcome the cultural and language barriers they might encounter when caring for people from different backgrounds.

The poster can be used by families or service providers and is a quick reference for tips on how to manage behaviour.

An important part of the design of the resource was using photos of people from CALD backgrounds. That was when Linkcare clients stepped in as “models” for the resource.

 NT DBMAS took the opportunity at the launch event to thank both the staff and the clients at Linkcare for their important contribution to the resource.

The resource is available on the Frontier Services website and will also be used by NT DBMAS when it provides training to service providers and individual carers.