{
  "abstract": "Currently Advance Care Planning primarily focuses on circumstances where an individual may not wish to have life prolonging treatment. Currently in Australia, the number one cause of death of women is dementia, however for those of us living with dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions, our primary focus is living as well as we can while we can.On diagnosis day, we are told to get our affairs in order – prescribed disengagement. This of course refers to making arrangements for our future ‘incapacity’ and ‘death’, in terms of distribution of assets, and management of our bodies, however there is no room in this process for planning how we live and are supported between diagnosis and end stage dementia.I propose that novel and expanded advance care planning could take an active and productive role in the wellbeing of people still actively living with dementia, as well as improved planning and safety for the later stages of the disease by way of an ‘advance social directive’. This could make space for an individual to nominate matters ‘material’ to their wellbeing while they are still in the mild to moderate stages, as well as developing mutual trust and information pathways to make a more fully informed and active consent based advance care directive that is actually meaningful for them.I further propose that such expansion would greatly improve the quality of care available to the individual as well as providing robust support to caregivers and supporters, in having validation of the will of the individual. This is particularly valuable in instances where restrictive practice – active or passive is involved. A personal risk plan which would underpin future behaviour support planning would be a valuable adjunct to the advance care/social planning process.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Dementia Alliance International, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Theresa Flavin"
    }
  ],
  "title": "34 Inclusive advance care planning in dementia – planning for life before death?",
  "uid": "703d6e26-e98c-597e-9eac-5a21f7689a39"
}