Aims: While several dementia-specific rehabilitation interventions have been evaluated in Australia, they often require significant resources and delivery time. This research focuses on end-user priorities to create cost-effective, person-centred, and goal-directed in-home rehabilitation interventions for people who may not be suitable for group programs in the Australian Capital Territory.
Methods: A co-design working group was formed to incorporate stakeholder views into the intervention design, funded for six home visits per participant. An occupational therapist and physiotherapist will design and monitor the intervention, delivered by an allied health assistant. Over six months, four two-hour co-design workshops were held with 16 experts, including three dyads and ten healthcare professionals with at least three years of dementia experience. Workshops were recorded, transcribed, and analysed thematically.
Results: Four overarching themes and seven subthemes were identified. The themes identified are awareness, acceptance, and access; person-centred care, which focuses on understanding individual needs and goals with respect, dignity, flexibility, and adaptability; empowerment through community engagement and continuous support, which includes building confidence, connecting with other services, and avoiding information overload; and multidisciplinary coordinated care, which emphasises creating a supportive network and ensuring smooth handover processes.
Conclusions: Engaging stakeholders in the co-design process identified key components for a feasible and valuable at-home dementia intervention. Findings demonstrate confidence from participants that the program has the potential to impact the well-being of people with dementia living at home. Assessing feasibility and effectiveness is necessary to determine whether it is implemented in the Australian Capital Territory's public health system.