Assistance
How do I contact the Tasmanian Healthy Brain Team?
You can contact the Tasmanian Healthy Brain Team either by telephone (free call 1800 982 600), or by email (healthy.brain@utas.edu.au).
How do I get assistance with my enrolment?
Contact the Student Centre either by telephone (1300 361 928), or by email (enrolments@utas.edu.au).
How do I get assistance settling into UTAS?
Each faculty has a student advisor who can offer individualised assistance to help you settle into life at UTAS and to help resolve any issues that may be affecting your study. For more information visit First Year at UTAS - Student Advisers.
Participation
What does participation in the Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project involve?
Participation in the Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project involves annual comprehensive neuropsychological assessments. These assessments will examine areas such as memory, language and executive function (e.g. attention) and will take, on average, four hours to complete. These assessments will take place on a day suitable to you at your convenience on a UTAS campus (Cradle Coast, Launceston (Newnham), and the Medical Sciences precinct, 17 Liverpool Street, Hobart).
What does it mean to be a volunteer on this project?
Being a volunteer on this project will allow you to give some of your time to this world-first study, assisting us to explore the puzzle of dementia. The results of your cognitive assessments will add to the pool of data which UTAS researchers will analyse to determine whether later-life tertiary education provides a protective effect against dementia associated with ageing.
Do I have to undertake university study to participate?
Yes, UTAS study is required. The project has received enough offers of control participation to not require any more non-studying participants at this point.
Can I study at universities other than UTAS and still participate?
No, unfortunately this is a unique project of the University of Tasmania and inclusion is dependent on studying at the University of Tasmania. The Cradle Coast, Launceston, and Hobart campuses of UTAS as well as by distance, if you live in Tasmania, are all accepted.
What age do I have to be?
To participate in the study you must be between the ages of 50 and 79. If you are turning 80 in the year of your first assessment you may still apply to participate.
What does it cost to do a unit at UTAS?
For information on the cost of specific units please refer to Student Centre Unit Costs.
How much university study must I undertake?
In order to participate you are required to complete a minimum study load of 25% per year. Normally, this is two units per year (12.5% for each unit), with one unit studied in each semester. However, we encourage our participants to complete as much study as possible!
What do I do if I applied for my course before I knew about the Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project (i.e. did not indicate interest via the drop-down menu on your course application form)?
As long as you have contacted the Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project team your application to the study should be taken care of.
Will I receive feedback from my neuropsychological assessments?
All participants will have the option of having their individual test results reported to them by Dr Mathew Summers. This will be an interpretation provided by an experienced clinical Neuropsychologist who routinely conducts assessments of older adults for dementia. You may choose not to have this information in which case there will be no feedback.