1. Dementia, Safety and Risk for Abuse Mary Schulz Director of Education Alzheimer Society of Canada

2. Conflict of Interest Disclosure Mary Schulz, MSW; RSW Director of Education Alzheimer Society of Canada Has no real or apparent conflicts of interest to report.

3. Alzheimer Society of Canada

4. Alzheimer Society of Canada Framework: Person Centred Approach to Care Throughout the Continuum of the Disease Dementia and Safety Risks Early Middle Late End of Life Driving Home Safety Way finding Vulnerable to exploitation (judgement) Responsive behaviours Carer stress Dependence on carers (e.g. LTC homes) Restraint use

5. Rationale i)“Rising Tide: The Impact of Dementia on Canadian Society” ii) Personal stories and the media

6. Alzheimer Society of Canada Focus on Abuse

7. Abuse of People with Dementia: Some findings Abuse = Typically a hidden problem 4% - 10% of Canadian seniors experience some form of abuse of neglect

8. Abuse of People with Dementia: Some findings People with dementia are more vulnerable to abuse ↑ Dependency ↓ Social networks ↑ Isolation ↓ Ability to take action due to ↓ cognitive abilities Attitude that people with dementia are of lesser value Caregiver issues and “abuse” by person with dementia

9. TOOLS Evidence based tools for detection, management and prevention of elder abuse National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly www.nicenet.ca www.nicenet.ca “In Hand” – tool to help practitioners in their ethical reflection leading to decision making in a senior abuse situation

10. Our staff speak: Survey of learning needs Key findings

11. Alzheimer Society of Canada Our Challenges Living Safely with Dementia Resources and capacity Ethics Complex Multi-faceted Multiple priorities – sense of urgency

12. Awareness of safety strategies Lives saved

13. Moving Forward Create staff toolkits Partnerships ++ Build safety tips into all our literature

14. One Family’s Tragedy

15. Mary Schulz MSW; RSW Director of Education Alzheimer Society of Canada mschulz@alzheimer.ca