Swinburne University of Technology and leading Not For Profit home care provider Silverchain have announced they will pilot a digital intervention for depression for older people living at home, a program they have co-designed.
More than one million Australians receive in-home aged care, and it’s estimated that up to half experience symptoms of depression – and many lack access to treatment.
The program, called e-EMBED (Electronic - Enhanced Management of Home-Based Elders with Depression), uses digital technologies to deliver psychological strategies to home care clients to help them improve their wellbeing.
Silverchain Director of Research Discovery, Professor Tanya Davison, says this is the first digital mental health intervention developed specifically for the home care setting.
“This program will enable older Australians to access evidence-based treatments and communicate effectively with a mental health clinician in the comfort of their own homes.
“Our team will develop new tools to tailor digitally enabled approaches to meet the needs and preferences of individual older people.
“This project demonstrates our commitment to be leaders in home care internationally, provide an evidence base for effective care and to improve the care we offer to more than 115,000 clients each year.”
Swinburne clinical geropsychologist Professor Sunil Bhar says the partnership has already established that older people are interested in using digital technologies to support their wellbeing and said digital literacy needs to be considered in developing the product.
“The next step is to develop and pilot the digital psychological intervention for depression and evaluate its use in the home context,” he said.
The project is funded by Aged Care Research and Industry Innovation Australia (ARIIA).
