COM-IC – collaborative development of core outcome measures for dementia care

People living with dementia require services from multiple providers, across all care settings, ranging from primary care (GP and specialist), acute (hospital), allied health and social care. People with young onset dementia and those from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds often require different types of services. While the ultimate care objective for all stakeholders is better health and quality of life for the care recipients, interventions and care models delivered in different settings and for different populations naturally lead to a wide range of instruments and approaches to report similar outcomes or events and to measure success (clinical efficacy and effectiveness, care quality and efficiency). Different assessment instruments reduce comparability across care models, leading to the slow translation of evidence into practice to improve care quality. It also results in both fragmentation and duplication of service provision across providers, creating inefficiencies in healthcare and aged care systems.

This research aims to increase comparability in dementia outcome measures, improve the consistency of impact measures at all levels of care, decrease lag between research and implementation of best-practice care, thereby improving quality and consistency of care delivery, ultimately improving the experience, health outcomes and quality of life for everyone affected by dementia.

The COM-IC Project will have a Stakeholder Reference Group and a number of short-term Working Groups. Participants for each group will be selected based on their preferences, skills and availability. If you have a preference for either group, please let us know in the ‘your contribution’ section of the expression of interest survey.

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What happens once I submit an expression of interest?

Expressions of interest will be reviewed by an interim Stakeholder Reference Group that includes people living with dementia. The Stakeholder Reference Group will include 8-15 people with an experience of dementia (either personally affected by dementia or as a health professional or researcher) and from a range of cultural and professional backgrounds. Working Groups will have similar membership, but may be smaller or larger depending on their purpose. Potential members of both groups will be selected based on their experience to ensure all groups include a wide range of views.

Everyone who submits an expression of interest will be contacted by the COM-IC project team in mid-March 2023.

What is the time commitment if I participate?

Members of the Stakeholder Reference Group will be asked to commit up to 2 hours per month for up to 2 years. The time commitment for Working Groups will vary, but may be up to 4 hours per month for 3-6 months. Participants are free to withdraw at any time.

Will I be paid for my contribution?

Stakeholder Reference Group and Working Group members will be remunerated for their time at a rate of $45.00/hr in line with recommendations from Health Consumers Queensland.