specialty focus
Professor Susan Kurrle . Picture : Supplied .
That took me to the subject of frailty . Over the years , I ’ ve done a lot of work on frailty and how to reverse it . For example , one was a randomised trial at Hornsby on reducing frailty using physiotherapy and nutrition .
‘ Never too late ’
Dementia professor awarded for pioneering work .
By Elise Hartevelt
Professor Susan Kurrle from the University of Sydney has been honoured for her ground-breaking research in dementia .
The health leader and researcher was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in January as tribute to her outstanding service as a geriatrician and research into cognitive decline .
Professor Kurrle began her career as a geriatrician at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai and Eurobodalla Health Services in 1987 .
Over her 35-years of experience , Professor Kurrle has made progress in numerous areas of aged care , including elder abuse , frailty and nutrition .
“ They go above and beyond , are from all over the country , and contribute every day in every way imaginable ,” governor-general of Australia David Hurley said .
“ These are the people who see us through good times and bad . They ’ re the first to show up and the last to leave .”
Each year , the Commonwealth awards Australian citizens on their outstanding service to the public and country .
Aged Care Insite spoke with Professor Kurrle about her dementia research and why it ’ s important to age well .
ACI : What was your response to receiving an Australia Day honour earlier this year ? SK : I was stunned and was trying to get my head around it . My main comment is that it should be a team award because I work with the most amazing group of people and have done so at Hornsby for the past 35 years .
Could you share with us a bit about your career ? When I started 35 years ago , I felt very lucky to work as a geriatrician at Hornsby .
We were always a couple of steps ahead simply because we had to adapt and develop services for older people . If you came upon something you didn ’ t know , there were plenty of people to talk to .
And that ’ s how I got involved in elder abuse in 1989 when I came across a case . In those days , we didn ’ t have a name for it . Colleagues encouraged me to look at it more , so we researched it . And that was the first Australian research confirming that elder abuse was an issue .
If something came up in my work , I would see what we could do about it . Elder abuse was an example - falls and hip fracture was another .
I ended up doing my PhD in hip protectors , which are plastic shields you wear in underwear over both hips . It protects your hip if you fall . During my PhD , I researched why women wore or chose not to wear hip protectors .
What was your role in advancing guidelines and aged care services around dementia ? I naturally became involved in dementia because that ’ s just so much part of our work . I joined the board of aged care provider HammondCare in 1998 , who were pioneers in working with dementia .
It was a very small organisation back then , and they ’ ve gradually developed and sharpened their work in dementia .
In 2012 , we were awarded the NHMRC grant to lead the $ 25m NHMRC Partnership Centre on Dealing with Cognitive and Related Functional Decline in Older People .
So , that gave me and my co-investigators funding to research cognitive decline that aged care providers or consumers directed .
There were different bodies , such as Dementia Australia , and providers , including HammondCare , that gave us a wishlist of issues they wanted answers to . For example , what ’ s the best residential care model for people with dementia ?
Alzheimer ’ s Australia was also pleased that we developed clinical practice guidelines for the management of dementia because there weren ’ t any .
We also looked at stigma and community attitudes , reablement and pain management in dementia .
It was meant to be five years , but it went on for seven years . I ’ m really proud of the work that we did . And like I said before , it was truly a team effort – I just happened to be the leader .
And everyone on the team has continued working within their specific areas . It ’ s exciting to see some of the young researchers I worked with are now working in areas like outcomes for people with dementia and winning grants themselves .
Overall , I think the key to everything is getting everybody working together . Because we all want to make sure we ’ re improving the quality of life for older people .
You recently joined the board of the Maggie Beer Foundation – what do you hope to achieve in food quality in aged care ? Maggie Beer ’ s single aim is to improve the food in aged care . And I think if there ’ s
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