New research transforms practice leadership through AI and innovative programmes
New research will transform practice leadership in dementia mate wareware support, by providing the springboard for innovative programmes being launched by our Dementia Learning Centre this year.
Director Caroline Bartle recently completed doctoral research on how dementia care organisations learn and what consistently gets in the way.
There are two significant findings.
The first is the development of technology as a genuine enabler of learning for practitioners – supporting better outcomes for people living with dementia mate wareware and their whānau.
The second is the concept of Digitally Informed Practice Leadership, which a new role envisaged through the research to address one of the sector’s most persistent gaps.
As AI and digital tools reshape how care organisations function, Caroline’s research identifies the urgent need for leaders who can navigate both the clinical and technological landscape with confidence and critical awareness.
“Technology now influences learning and outcomes in ways we’re only beginning to understand,” she says.
“We need people who are informed not only about dementia, but about the role of technology in shaping how care is learned and practised. That’s not just the future – that’s the present.
“The integration of technology skills is paramount – to protect people, to safeguard practice, and to ensure that technology serves people rather than the other way around.”
Our Dementia Learning Centre is set to launch two new programmes this year – the Practice Leadership Programme and the KORA Project – bringing the insights from Caroline’s research directly into the hands of the dementia care workforce.
“I’m very fortunate,” reflects Caroline. “Not many researchers get to watch their findings leave the page and take root in the real world, built from the ground up, alongside the very communities the research was always trying to serve.”
Caroline will share her findings at the Alzheimer’s Disease International next month and Alzheimers NZ’s conference in September.
Get in touch with Dementia Learning Centre via education@alzheimers.org.nz to find out more about these programmes.