Conjoint Prof. Kim Wylie

Biography

Kim holds the position of Conjoint Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. She was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 1993 and studied restraint minimisation practices in dementia-specific units across the globe. Her qualifications and extensive experience are in the field of social gerontology and dementia. Kim’s interests include collaborative and transformative practice development as a means of implementing and evaluating person-centred approaches to care practice - and particularly, the importance of gathering rigorous practice-based evidence with which to inform evidence-based practice during all research ventures. Kim also has considerable knowledge and experience using quality of life tools to develop better practice in the care of people living with dementia. Kim completed a PhD in 2001 which required continual observation over a period of one year in the clinical field with people with dementia. Observations involved the use of a specific quality of life tool used in research for the first time in Australia. During her research, she evaluated the outcomes of enriching the sensory environment of people with dementia.

Kim's research interests and activities in the speciality field of caring for people living with dementia embrace interdisciplinary collaboration, particularly with psychologists and cover issues including chemosensory loss, sensory enrichment, pain, the person-centred approach, sleep hygiene, depression, behaviour as communication and the language of the profession of gerontology. Kim has studied internationally at the University of Bradford and was the first Australian to complete the Basic User Course in Dementia Care Mapping. She trained several hundred health care professionals across Australia at Basic and Advanced level in the application of this observational tool.

Kim has published book chapters, refereed journal articles and a number of opinion pieces and articles nationally and internationally. She has also written numerous training packages about improving care for poeple with dementia for private industry and government organisations. Kim has been invited to present key note presentations in the USA and the UK and has also presented in several other countries as well as most states of Australia. She has studied and worked with colleagues in 15 countries over a period of nearly 20 years.

She has taught at undergraduate level and at Master’s level and frequently mentors students referred to her for assistance. In 2012, Kim provided pro bono assistance to several industry groups for example, the preparation of a major grant application for the Urban Indigenous Community aged-care (UICAC) Network and allied Indigenous organisations.

Kim values opportunities to undertake HRD thesis examination and her reports are fair and detailed.

Qualifications

• PhD, University of Newcastle, 2001

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Research

Research keywords

• Critical Theory
• Dementia
• Transformational Practice Development

Research expertise

My major areas of research include:

• Qualitative Research in particular phenomenology

• Participatory Developmental Evaluation Research methods

• Transformational Practice Development

• Critical Theory

• Pain in people with dementia; chemosensory loss in people with dementia; behaviour as communication for people with dementia; cultural transformation in residential care

• Dementia Care Mapping as an observational tool for improving life quality for older people and people living with dementia

Collaboration

Interdisciplinary and cross-university collaboration in social gerontology and specifically, dementia

Kim is interested in supervising Master and PhD students in the following areas:

Dementia:

Transformational Practice Development to improve life quality

Person-Centred Care

The social experience of living with dementia

Interdisciplinary studies in social gerontology

Psychosocial determinants of behaviour-as-communication

Observational tools and their value in improving care practice

Fields of Research

Code	Description	Percentage
110308	Geriatrics And Gerontology	70
220307	Hermeneutic And Critical Theory	20
160703	Social Program Evaluation	10

Memberships

Body relevant to professional practice.

• Member - The Holistic Nurses’ Association
• Member - The Bradford Dementia Group, Bradford University UK
• Member - National Dementia Network
• Member - Royal College of Nursing Australia
• Member - Chronic Pain Australia

Committee/Associations (relevant to research).

• Fellow - The Winston Churchill Fellowship Trust

Other

• Fellow - The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust

Awards

Research Award.

2012	Best Practice Project Hunter Stroke Service (Australia) .
2004	Baxter Award NSW Health (Australia) Improving Acute Care using Dementia Care Mapping. A pilot study using Dementia Care Mapping as a tool for improving the care and life quality of hospitalised patients with a cognitive impairment. Dr Kim Wylie & Carol Penning
1993	Churchill Fellowship Award International Study Winston Churchill Memorial Trust (Australia) The trust offer fellowships for international research.

Invitations

“Reaching Through the Cobwebs – Using the senses to care for people with dementia”. Alzheimer Society of Washington 15th Annual Conference, United States (Keynote Address)	2001
“Reaching Through the Cobwebs – Using the senses to care for people with dementia”. Alzheimer Society of Washington , United States (Invited Presenter)	2001
“Reaching Through the Cobwebs – Using the senses to care for people with dementia”. Alzheimer Society of Washington, United States (Invited Presenter)	2001
Dementia Care Mapping International Conference. Dementia Care Mapping International Conference., United Kingdom (Invited Presenter)	2004

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Administrative

Administrative expertise

Manager and Director of Care Residential Aged Care Facilities

Manager QLD Introduction of Accreditation Standards in General Practice

Manager Centre for Research and Education Calvary RCC

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Teaching

Teaching keywords

• Dementia
• Language of Personhood
• Nursing
• Practice Development
• Reviewing the Literature

Teaching expertise

I have mentored students at universities in WA, QLD, NSW, SA as well as internationally. I have also supervised postgraduate studies and coordinated user courses in Dementia care mappin.