University of Tasmania, Australia

The Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre (WDREC) has teamed up with the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery to test the efficacy of iRemember loan cases. The cases contain a rich collection of objects chosen from familiar items from the 1930s to 1970s with an emphasis on everyday items. Each case is based on a themed collection that triggers memories by using the senses of touch, sight, smell and sound. In the Kitchen and Stepping Out will take people down memory lane, extending communication and hopefully improving well-being.

Reminiscence therapy has been established as a popular and effective therapeutic approach for working with people with dementia. Reported benefits of this approach include promoting communication and wellbeing, as well as focusing upon preserved abilities rather than deficits. Furthermore, descriptive evaluations suggest that joint approaches involving family carers can improve relationships between the carer and the person with dementia, while other studies have demonstrated reductions in carer depression and carer stress. Enhancement of autobiographical memory has also been associated with reminiscence groups involving people with dementia and their carer.

In a unique collaboration, WDREC and the Museum will take a community consultative approach to identify what people with dementia and their carers would like to see in the iRemember loan cases, to explore what information about the artefacts and about dementia they want in the cases. Collaborating with Alzheimer's Australia Tasmania, a memory diary will also provide an opportunity for people with dementia and their carers to share their memories associated with particular artefacts or cases, providing valuable feedback on the efficacy of the artefacts in serving as memory triggers, assisting in the refinement of the case contents. 

The aim is to eventually develop four iRemember loan cases consisting of a collection of theme-specific artefacts and a iRemember handbook. The iRemember handbook and individual cards will explain the provenance of individual objects, suggested discussion pointers relating to each item, group and paired activities involving the objects, and overall guidelines for using the reminiscing loan cases with people with dementia.