Jessica Spokes

One of the inaugural recipients of the Clifford Craig Foundation’s Early Career Research Scholarships, Jessica is currently leading a project aimed at providing support for the management of behavioural symptoms of dementia.

Jessica came to Tasmania in 2021 to complete her pharmacy internship at the Launceston General Hospital and has since stayed on as a registered pharmacist.

Before this, she studied in Brisbane at the University of Queensland where she obtained a Bachelor of Pharmacy, with Honours. While completing her internship at the LGH she gained her graduate qualifications through Monash University.  

Jessica says her passion for research comes from a desire to improve care for older Australians, particularly around behavioural symptoms in dementia.

As she explained, more than 480,000 Australians are currently living with dementia, and that number is growing every day.

“Behavioural changes are common in people with dementia, especially as the condition progresses,” Jessica said.

“In some instances, behaviours such as agitation and aggression are triggered by changes in the person’s environment, their health, or their medication.

“Through understanding these behaviours and their triggers, I believe we can find an answer to holistic management of these behaviours without the use of sedative medication. Finding this and being able to implement it in our hospitals is what motivates me to continue my research.”

Jessica’s is now working on implementing a “Geriatric Antipsychotic Stewardship” team within the LGH, targeted at the management of behavioural symptoms of dementia in hospital.

This project will encompass reviews of a patients’ behaviours, medication, and environment to identify potential triggers for their behaviour.

“From this, we can identify how to provide individualised support for managing their behaviours whilst reducing the use of sedative medication (namely antipsychotics),” she explained.

“Through utilising a multidisciplinary team of a doctor, nurse, and pharmacist, we can provide multifaceted support for both patients and staff to reduce the use of antipsychotics and improving patient-centred care.”

This project will be 6 months in duration and is supported by Clifford Craig and the Cuthill Family Foundation.