Most people living with dementia continue to live in their own homes, supported by family carers and home care workers, making the home the primary site of care rather than residential facilities. This reality is reshaping expectations of home care, housing design and service delivery, and places increasing importance on the capability of the workforce delivering care in these environments.
The quality of interactions between a care worker and a person living with dementia often has a greater impact on daily wellbeing than any piece of technology or environmental modification. A thoughtfully designed, dementia-friendly home cannot compensate for communication that creates anxiety, confusion or distress. Equally, a skilled and empathetic workforce can enable people to remain independent for longer, even as cognitive changes progress.
As dementia prevalence continues to rise, workforce development must move beyond simply providing more education. The challenge is no longer whether workers have access to information. It is whether learning translates into changes in practice.
For decades, dementia education has concentrated on building knowledge. Staff attend workshops, complete online modules and learn about the biology of dementia, behavioural symptoms and person-centred care principles. These programs undoubtedly improve understanding, yet research consistently demonstrates that knowledge alone rarely changes behaviour.
This is a well-recognised challenge across healthcare education. Knowing what to do is fundamentally different from being able to do it confidently in complex, emotionally charged situations.
Studies examining dementia education illustrate this gap. Â At Dementia Australia we have found that traditional didactic education may improve and increase knowledge, but does not provide sustained practice change. In contrast, programs that combine education with experiential activities have demonstrated meaningful changes in practice for people receiving care. Similarly, approaches that integrate cognitive-behavioural methods with experiential learning have been shown to improve not only knowledge but also staff attitudes towards dementia care.
These findings align with broader evidence from adult learning. Adults learn most effectively when they can actively apply knowledge, practise new skills, receive feedback and reflect on their performance. Learning becomes more durable when it resembles the situations learners encounter every day.
This is particularly important in dementia care because communication cannot be mastered through observation alone.
Every conversation is different. A person may forget recent events but vividly remember childhood experiences. Someone experiencing delusions may firmly believe something that is objectively untrue. Another person may become distressed when family members attempt to correct them. These situations require judgement, empathy and adaptability rather than memorised scripts.
Communication is therefore a practical skill that must be developed through experience.
A growing body of evidence supports experiential learning as one of the most effective approaches for dementia education. A systematic review by Claire Surr and colleagues (Surr, C. A., Gates, C., Irving, D., Oyebode, J., Smith, S. J., Parveen, S., … & Dennison, A. (2017). Effective dementia education and training for the health and social care workforce: a systematic review of the literature. Review of educational research, 87(5), 966-1002) identified several characteristics shared by successful dementia training programs. Effective education combines theoretical knowledge with active participation, is directly relevant to learners’ roles, provides sufficient time for reflection and debriefing, and is delivered over enough time for learning to consolidate. Brief information sessions may improve awareness but rarely influence attitudes or behaviour.
Likewise, simulation research has repeatedly shown that realistic practice scenarios, combined with structured feedback, significantly improve learner confidence and performance. The opportunity to make mistakes safely—and learn from them—is central to effective professional development.
Technology is now making this type of experiential learning far more accessible.
Artificial intelligence is often discussed as a way of replacing human work. In education, however, its greatest value may lie in helping people become more human.
At Dementia Australia we are using conversational AI avatars to create new opportunities for care workers to practise difficult conversations in realistic but psychologically safe environments. Rather than reading about communication strategies, learners actively engage in conversations with virtual people living with dementia, experiencing the unpredictability, emotional complexity and nuance that characterise real interactions.
Unlike traditional role play, AI-powered simulations can respond dynamically to the learner’s choices. Questions, conversational approaches, engagement influence how the interaction unfolds, allowing learners to experience the consequences of different communication techniques in real time.
Importantly, these conversations provide opportunities to pause, reflect and try again. Learners can identify where communication broke down, consider alternative approaches and immediately reapply what they have learned. This iterative process mirrors the experiential learning cycle described by educational theorists for decades but delivers it in an accessible online environment.
The value lies not in the technology itself but in the learning experience it creates.
For organisations supporting people to age in place, this has significant implications.
Home care workers frequently work independently, making complex decisions without immediate support from colleagues or supervisors. Unlike residential aged care, there may be fewer opportunities to observe experienced practitioners or participate in team-based learning. Building communication capability before workers encounter challenging situations becomes increasingly important.
At Dementia Australia we are developing experiential learning using conversational AI to provide care workers the opportunity to rehearse these interactions before they occur in someone’s home. Workers can develop confidence in responding to repetitive questioning, anxiety, confusion or resistance to care while receiving structured feedback in a fail-safe environment.
This approach complements, rather than replaces, traditional education. Foundational knowledge remains essential. Understanding dementia pathology, progression and person-centred principles provides the framework for good practice. Experiential learning transforms that knowledge into practical capability.
As Australia’s aged care sector continues to evolve, workforce development must evolve alongside it. The sector has invested heavily in digital learning over the past decade, improving accessibility and reach. Yet evidence suggests that information alone is insufficient. The National Audit of Dementia undertaken by the Royal College of Psychiatrists found that staff who had received only e-learning felt the least prepared to care for people living with dementia.
The future of workforce education is therefore unlikely to be defined by more online modules or longer presentations. Instead, it will be characterised by learning experiences that are interactive, reflective and grounded in authentic practice.
Supporting people to age in place is ultimately about preserving independence, dignity and quality of life. Achieving this depends not only on better-designed homes and smarter technologies, but on equipping the workforce with the confidence and communication skills to build meaningful relationships with the people they support.
Knowledge starts the journey. Experience is what changes practice.
Associate Professor Tanya Petrovich
Innovation Manager, Education and Provider Services, Dementia Australia
Adjunct Associate Professor, Applied Artificial Intelligence Initiative, Deakin University.
