DAI's September Webinar on "Human rights as a practice model in residential aged care", is presented by International dementia consultant Daniella Greenwood, who has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons 1), a Bachelor of Health Science (Leisure & Health/Therapeutic Recreation) and a Diploma of Diversional Therapy.
DAI is honoured to have had Daniella present on this very important topic to our audience.
About the webinar: Paternalism structures the lives of people living with dementia in residential/long-term care and diminishes their status as equal citizens. Person-centred and relationship-centred approaches have failed to address the deeply embedded philosophical and operational influence of the medical/institutional model and paternalistic assumptions. People living with dementia in these institutions continue to be treated as patients rather than as adult citizens, exposing them to regular, unchallenged and often casual breaches of their human rights justified as ‘best interests’ or as ‘interventions’ to manage what are commonly referred to as the Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia.
The focus on ‘culture change’ has further obscured our urgent obligation to address the blatant and often state-sanctioned human rights breaches in residential/long-term care - which in any other care context would be regarded as profoundly unjust and, in many instances, illegal. A human rights lens is applied with practical examples outlining the possibility of creating an environment of recognition and true respect in long-term care through solidarity in aligning operations, attitudes, practices and processes with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
About Daniella Greenwood: Daniella an international consultant, speaker and published author specialising in human rights policy and practice in long-term care. Her dissertation looked at human rights practice as it relates to citizen residents living in the later stages of dementia. She has presented her work to federal parliamentarians and as a keynote speaker including for Alzheimer’s Disease International in 2015 and Dementia Action Alliance in 2019. Daniella is also a musician who has composed and performed music to accompany some of Kate Swaffer’s poetry.
About DAI: Dementia Alliance International (DAI is a non-profit group of people with dementia from around the world seeking to represent, support, and educate others living with the disease that it is possible to live more positively than advised with dementia. It is an organization that promotes a unified voice of strength, advocacy and support in the fight for individual autonomy, improved quality of life, and for the human and legal rights of all with dementia and their families.
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