Medicine student tells the story of dementia

University of Newcastle medicine student, Tara Kannan, has been announced as a winner of this year’s National Dementia Storytelling Competition.

This awareness initiative was run by Dementia Training Australia (DTA) to improve the care of people living with dementia.

“Salutogenesis is a novel model of care that focuses on optimising wellbeing through developing health literacy, self-management skills and a desire to live. Currently, the medical field is dominated by pathogenesis, which is a model focused on the origins of disease and treatment with medication and surgery.

“My article explores the definition of the salutogenic model, its origins and its implications for dementia in our global community. From music therapy to culturally sensitive salutogenic approaches such as Tai Chi and India’s traditional board games, early uses of the salutogenic model across the globe have proven effective in dementia care.” Tara said.