Topic guides: Eye health and dementia: Content

Video content

Talking Sense
See Chapter 1: Vision - This chapter covers, How sight works, The impact of ageing, The impact of dementia and more.
Talking Sense is a practical tool for carers looking to support people living with sensory challenges. It raises awareness of the little-known phenomenon that people living with dementia can also face sensory challenges such as vision and perception impairment, and shows who to go to for help, where support organisations can be located, and how to access services and support

Why everybody living with dementia needs regular eye tests
This is an article for the general public which highlights why regular eye tests are helpful for people living with dementia, and that eye test procedures can be adapted to accommodate different types and levels of dementia.
Improving Dementia-Friendly Eye Care: A Step Forward
This is an article for the general public about the aims of our research project, including a walkthrough video of our information booklet about eyecare for people living with dementia.

Look after your eyes
Information about eyecare for people living with dementia including pocket card to support communication with eyecare professionals. This includes a double-sided card to easily declare a dementia diagnosis and any support needs to your optometrist and their practice staff. Print and fill out at home, and bring to your eye test appointment!
Everyone living with dementia should have regular eye tests - Postcard
A handy information postcard about looking after your eyes when you have dementia

Optometry Australia
To find your closest dementia-friendly optometrist, check out our "Find an Optometrist” search tool. Use the drop down menu "Services provided" to find a dementia-friendly optometrist. You can select from ‘Residential aged care’ or ‘Dementia-Friendly’ options to find what you need. For home visits, you can check the Home Visit checkbox.
Good Vision for Life
Good Vision for Life is an information and education hub about eye health. It is run by Optometry Australia, the peak professional body for optometrists. This website also provides information about eye conditions, different eyecare professionals and what they do, and what to expect from the eye test. This information is not specific to people with dementia. The ‘Find an Optometrist’ function is duplicated here for your convenience.

Routine eye examinations for people living with dementia A tip sheet for eyecare professionals
This is a tip sheet for eyecare professionals to help them adapt their communication and testing to accommodate different types and severities of dementia.

Improving Dementia-Friendly Eye Care: A Step Forward (2023)
This is an article for eyecare professionals about the aims of our research project, including a walkthrough video of our information booklet about eyecare for people living with dementia. Please note that this web page, particularly the Tags section, is not laid out in a way that is easy for people living with dementia to read. Please refer instead to the version of this article for the general public linked in the previous section, as this is on a different website.
Primary eyecare provision for people living with dementia: what do we need to know? (2022)
To support provision of high quality “dementia-friendly” eyecare, this scoping review summarises recent primary research findings and available clinical practice guidelines, to identify research gaps relating to vision and dementia, and make recommendations for future research and clinical practice.
Marianne E F Piano, Bao N Nguyen, Sena A Gocuk, Lynette Joubert & Allison M McKendrick (2023): Primary eyecare provision for people living with dementia: what do we need to know?, Clinical and Experimental Optometry 106(7): 711-25

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