We now have over 9000 Tasmanians who have registered their interest for the ISLAND Project in just three months! We can’t believe how quickly we’ve got to this number of registrations and we’d like to say thanks to everyone who has registered or helped us spread the word about this important project for dementia risk and the health of our population. We still need to recruit at least 10,000 Tasmanians who are 50 and over years of age, so please keep sharing the ISLAND Project with your family, friends and colleagues – we do appreciate your help.
We’re currently busy getting organised with the first stages of the ISLAND Project. This will include online surveys, and for those who may be interested, engagement in our MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) on dementia risk. We have also been recruiting the staff and building the resources for the initial phase of the project. There is nothing you need to do at this stage, and we hope to have this new program up and running by October.
We’re also in the early stages of planning to establish a memory clinic. The clinic will be based at the University of Tasmania, Medical Science Precinct in Hobart and will operate based on referral from a General Practitioner. We are also planning to have a mobile clinic operating in the North and North West of Tasmania and hope to have both open early next year. Separately, we are developing a research activity for residents on the North West coast on dementia risk and community co-developed interventions. You will also see us at various community events across the state in coming months so keep an eye on our social media pages to find out where we will be.
There’s a lot going on behind the scenes to get the ISLAND Project ready and we can’t wait to begin! Thanks again for helping us to reach this amazing number of registrations in such a short period of time. We couldn’t have done it without you.
Watch this space…..we will be in touch again very soon by email to those who have registered, and you can also follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/islandprojWDC/) or on Twitter (@IslandprojWDC). If you have any questions for us, please get in touch via island@dementia.utas.edu.au.
With best wishes,
The ISLAND Project Team
