Associate Professor Shih-ning Then1, Dr Craig Sinclair2
1Queensland University Of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, 2University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Since the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCPRD) came into force in 2008, the practice and concept of supported decision-making has gained prominence as a potential alternative or adjunct to substituted decision-making. While the concept of supported decision-making or the practice of decision-making support has been widely embraced by academics, government departments and the disability sector with respect to those with intellectual disabilities, its application in the context of people with dementia has been less well explored. From one perspective this is surprising, as the gradual decline of cognitive abilities associated with dementias seems fertile ground for decision-making support to maintain the autonomy of those individuals for longer before resorting to substitute decision-making. However, the findings of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety have shown that a large proportion of people in aged care, many of whom will have dementia, feel their decision-making autonomy has been removed. So can policy and legal changes in favour of decision-making support assist those with people with dementia? This presentation will explore some of the legal and policy drivers and practical impediments that may influence whether supported decision-making can make a difference for people with dementia.
Biography:
Associate Professor Shih-Ning Then researches and teaches in the area of health law and ethics. She is a socio-legal scholar with an interest in supported decision-making and substituted decision-making legal frameworks and their implementation in practice. She has been Chief Investigator of an ARC Linkage project examining the effectiveness of an education program for supporters of people with cognitive disabilities.
Dr Craig Sinclair- Bio to come