Let's CHAT Dementia in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities
The Let's CHAT (Community Health Approaches To) Dementia in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities research project worked with 12 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) around Australia to improve detection of cognitive impairment and dementia, as well as dementia care and brain health in the primary care context.
Let's CHAT was a co-design project working with ACCHS staff and a range of stakeholders in the area of Indigenous health and aged care to enhance the overall health outcomes and quality of life of older people who have cognitive impairment or dementia, their families and communities.
The project's Indigenous Reference Group advised on data collection activities, resource development and the implementation of the best-practice model of care that was developed as part of the project and rolled out in the health services of our co-researching ACCHS partners.
The data collection and implementation phases of the project are now completed, with 12 co-researching partner ACCHSs located across urban, regional and remote areas of Victoria, NSW, North Queensland and Western Australia. Write-up and dissemination of project findings is in progress.
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Research Staff
Let's CHAT Dementia brings together a large team of research staff and students working in the area of Indigenous dementia research from academic institutions around Australia and internationally.
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Indigenous Reference Group
The Indigenous Reference Group (IRG) is made up of Indigenous community members and experienced researchers, and ensures that the values and practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander older people, their families and communities are upheld in the project.
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ACCHSs and institutional affiliations
Twelve Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) and five academic institutions are partnering on the project across four states to help improve dementia care and brain health in their local communities.
Let's CHAT Dementia Project Publications
Bradley K, Smith R, Hughson JA, et al. Let’s CHAT (community health approaches to) dementia in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities: protocol for a stepped wedge cluster randomised controlled trial. BMC Health Services Research. 2020;20(208):1-3. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-4985-1
LoGiudice D, Hughson J, Douglas H, et al. Culturally safe, trauma-informed approach to cognitive impairment and dementia in older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Australian Journal of General Practice. 2023;52(8):505-11. https://10.31128/AJGP-01-23-6672
Holdaway M, Hyde Z, Hughson JA, et al. Medications and cognitive risk in Aboriginal primary care: a cross‐sectional study. Internal Medicine Journal. 2024;54(6):897-908. https://doi.org/10.1111/imj.16323
Bradley K, Hughson JA, Hyde Z, et al. Detection of cognitive impairment, dementia and associated risk factors among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: Retrospective baseline audit results from a stepped‐wedge cluster‐randomised controlled trial. Australasian Journal on Ageing. 2025;44(1):e70007. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajag.70007
Bradley K, Hughson JA, Blackberry I, et al. Process evaluation of a co-designed best practice model of dementia care in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary care: the Let’s CHAT (Community Health Approaches To) Dementia project. SSM-Mental Health. 2025:100426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100426
Hughson JA, Hyde Z, Bradley K, et al. Implementation of a best-practice model of care for cognitive impairment and dementia for first nations peoples attending primary care in Australia: a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial. The Lancet Regional Health-Western Pacific. 2025; 57:101529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2025.101529
Hughson JA, Belfrage M, Douglas H, et al. Developing a best-practice guide to support care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living with cognitive impairment and dementia: Prioritising inclusivity, consensus-building and cultural values. SSM-Mental Health. 2025;7:100420. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100426
Related Publications
For additional publications relating to cognitive impairment and dementia in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian populations, refer to Let's CHAT Dementia lead investigator Prof Dina LoGiudice's page.
Let's CHAT Dementia Newsletters
The Let's CHAT Dementia project group publishes newsletters to update our community with news from the research team, community members, research findings and feedback on how the project is progressing.
- December 2019 LCD Newsletter (PDF File 457.4 KB)
- September 2018 LCD Newsletter (PDF File 8.9 MB)
- August 2020 LCD Newsletter (PDF File 563.0 KB)
- December 2020 LCD Newsletter (PDF File 567.5 KB)
- May 2021 LCD Newsletter (PDF File 650.5 KB)
- December 2021 LCD Newsletter (PDF File 1.4 MB)
- June 2022 LCD Newsletter (PDF File 1.6 MB)
- December 2022 LCD Newsletter (PDF File 749.2 KB)
- August 2023 LCD Newsletter.pdf (PDF File 665.6 KB)
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Community Resources
Information about dementia and brain health for the community
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Clinical Resources
Resources developed as part of the Let's CHAT Dementia project. These resources have been designed for health professionals working in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary care.
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KICA tools
Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment tools for healthcare workers. Available tools include the KICA-Cog, KICA-Screen, KICA-Carer and KICA-Depression.
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Webinars
In collaboration with Dementia Training Australia, the Let’s CHAT Dementia team has created a six-part series of webinars on best-practice dementia care for primary health care teams working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
If you have any queries or would like to get in touch, please contact the project manager:
Dr Jo-anne Hughson, hughson@unimelb.edu.au, M: +61 425 710 396
Find us on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LetsCHATDementia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letschatdementia/
Let’s CHAT Dementia Webinar Series
In collaboration with Dementia Training Australia, the Let’s CHAT Dementia team and partners (the University of Melbourne, Neuroscience Australia, James Cook University, La Trobe University and the University of Western Australia) bring you a six-part series of webinars, which will give an overview of cognitive impairment and dementia care. These webinars follow the story of Aunty Molly who presents with memory and thinking problems. As the series progresses, we accompany Aunty Molly, who is supported by her son Frank and health service professionals, through her dementia diagnosis and management of her changing needs over time.
This series is aimed at primary health care teams including General Practitioners, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners and health workers, nurses, allied health professionals and others who work in primary care and are wanting to learn more about best practice care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples at risk of or living with cognitive impairment or dementia.