Establishing the role of social networks in older adults in residential aged care

This project aims to evaluate whether larger and more supportive networks protects against the mild memory decline associated with old age, as well as the more insidious memory decline in early dementia. Exploring this topic will enable us to increase our scientific and technical understanding of the nature of social networks in older Australians and determine for the first time whether increasing the richness (e.g., quality, quantity, diversity) of these networks are able to help halt progression of memory decline. This research will advance our understanding of social networks of older adults living in residential aged care and aid the development of effective interventions to improve their networks, wellbeing and memory function.