A new educational module to help care workers identify signs of financial abuse has been added to Dementia Australia’s Ask Annie app , which provides ongoing learning to care workers engaging with clients who live with dementia.
The module developed by Dementia Australia in Partnership with Insignia Financial and their not-for-profit IOOF foundation, was launched today, is to coincide with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
The module introduces Dom, “a virtual aged care advocate” who guides users through a “series of animated scenarios that explain what financial elder abuse is, how to recognise the signs and strategies to prevent or report it.”
According to Dementia Australia’s Business Innovation Manager, Tanya Petrovich, the collaboration with financially minded organisations such as Insignia show a shared dedication to addressing financial elder abuse.
“The partnership between IOOF Foundation, Insignia Financial and Dementia Australia demonstrates a collective commitment to supporting vulnerable people in the community who may experience or be at risk of experiencing financial elder abuse,” Dr Petrovich said.
Dementia Advocate for Dementia Australia, Gwenda Darling, said the education provided by the organisation is crucial.
“For many senior Australians, often care workers observe changes as they are the only independent people going into their homes or residential care facilities. It is so important care workers have the skills to recognise changes and provide suitable support,” Ms Darling said.
Dementia Australia states financial elder abuse is among the frequent forms of abuse that the elderly experience, and family members, including adult children, are often the offenders.
Additionally, the new module means there is now four hours of education content on the app, across four separate modules.
For more information on the Ask Annie app, where to download it, and the full cost of accessing all the other modules can be found at the Dementia Australia website.
