Dr Jacqueline Wesson
I am an early career researcher an occupational therapy (OT) clinical leader with expertise in older adults’ functional cognition, performance-based assessment of function, non-pharmacological support and dementia care across levels of ability and across care settings. Current research includes investigating behaviour support in residential care, and collaborations with MRFF DAAC and NHMRC researchers to improve dementia diagnosis and care.
- Functional cognition: ‘applied cognition’ or using retained cognitive abilities to perform everyday functional activities – how to best assess and support people with memory loss or dementia
- Behaviour support and non-pharmacological/ behaviour interventions for people living with dementia in residential aged care settings
- Psychometric properties of measurement/ assessment tools in clinical practice
- Cognitive impairment and dementia
- Community and residential aged care settings
I teach coursework to both Master of Occupational Therapy students and undergraduate Occupational Therapy students.
I currently supervise Higher Degree Research students, including Masters’ and PhD, with students investigating topics such as functional cognition in emergency depts, older people driving, safe mobility in people with Parkinson’s disease, and assessment of subtle changes in complex IADL.
I have a strong teaching background in multi-disciplinary workplaces & diverse clinical and research settings, including residential care. I teach functional cognition to post-graduate occupational therapists and others in the allied health team.
- Functional cognition screening to detect subtle functional difficulties in everyday activities in older adults: which tool is fit for purpose? (Dementia Australia Research Foundation, Dr Stuart and Bonnie Bartle Project Grant. Project Lead: Dr Jacqueline Wesson
- Exploring Behaviour Support in Residential Aged Care: Are they positive practices and processes? (FMH New Academic Start-Up Grant. Project Lead: Dr Jacqueline Wesson)
-Reducing medication-related harm in people living with dementia through community action: Development and testing of novel co-designed medication management resources across care settings (MRFF Early-Mid Career Researcher Grant. Project Lead: Dr Mouna Sawan)
-Implementing a Preventative Care Program to optimise mental health during transition into residential aged care (MRFF Dementia Ageing and Aged Care Innovation Pitch.Project Lead: Dr Michelle Kelly, UON)
- Development, validation and implementation of a computerised tool to assess instrumental activities of daily living (C-STAM) (MRFF Dementia Ageing & Aged Care Grant. Project Lead: Associate Professor Simone Reppermund, UNSW)
-Content Validation of a revised Pleasant Events Schedule for People Living with Dementia in Residential Care. Co-supervision of OT honours project with Professor Elspeth Froude and Dr Helen Badge (ACU)
-Optimising Functional and Social Independence and Safety of Older People living with Dementia in Care Homes: Implementation Research (NHMRC Project Grant. Project Lead: Professor Yun-Hee Jeon, U Syd)
-Maybo Education in Residential Care: Does Maybo education improve staff confidence and effectiveness in responding to severe aggression in people living with dementia? This commercially available program has not been tested in the aged care setting in Australia before. (Project Lead: Dr Jacqueline Wesson with Professors Henry Brodaty and Lynn Chenoweth (CHeBa), industry partners (Janine Grossman, Montefiore) and Maybo Australia.
-Occupational Therapy Assessments in Billable Environments (Project Lead: Dr Kylie Wales: UON)
-Knowledge Brokers for Evidence Translation to Improve Quality Use of Medicines in Residential Aged Care(MRFF Dementia Ageing & Aged Care. Project Lead: Professor Simon Bell, Monash)
OT Australia
OT Australia – Aged Care National Reference Group
Sydney Dementia Network Executive Committee
Australian Dementia Network (AdNET) EMCR Accelerator Group Committee
Australasian Association of Gerontology
International Psychogeriatrics Association
Psychogeriatric Nurses Association Australia
Dementia Australia Community of Practice
Dementia Collaborative Research Centre Special Interest Group – Changed Behaviours and Psychological Symptoms Associated with Dementia
Dean’s Teaching Citation 2022 for design for exceptional student learning and learning environments, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney School of Health Sciences, University of Sydney
Visiting Fellow, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Medicine, The University of New South Wales(UNSW) 2020-2022
Systematic review published in Neuroscience and Biobehavioural Reviews (2016) won best PhD paper award from Ageing Health and Work Research Unit, the University of Sydney
ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) Student affiliate as PhD candidate 2012 – 2017
Dementia Collaborative Research Centre Assessment and Better Care, UNSW PhD Scholarship 2011 – 2013
ARC CEPAR (Centre of Excellence for Population Ageing Research) Supplementary Scholarship 2013
Mary Frances Stephens Occupational Therapy Supplementary Scholarship, Faculty of Health, University of Sydney 2013
(Professor Gordon Giles Samuel Merritt University) Co-author of lead chapter in seminal text for occupational therapists on assessment and intervention for people with impaired functional cognition. | |
(Theressa Burns Clinical Occupational Therapy Specialist Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Centre) Co-author of chapter on the Cognitive Performance Test for occupational therapists in seminal text on functional cognition. |
| Project title | Research student |
|---|---|
| The use of Functional Cognition Assessment Tools in neurorehabilitation by occupational therapists in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region. | Abdulrahman BIN JUWAYR |
| Safe mobility behaviour intervention and assessment in people living with Parkinson’s disease | Daniel CHEUNG |
| Clinical utility and feasibility of functional cognition screening within Emergency and/or short stay acute in-patient setting for discharge planning for older adults to detect cognitive impairment | Frank GOMES |
| Driving Decisions: the clinicians that assess cognitive ability to drive | Belinda JOHNSTON |
| Ageing with Spinal Cord Injury: Australian consumer carer and health professional perspectives | Emma TAN |
Publications
Book Chapters
- MC O'Connor, C., Wesson, J., Clemson, L. (2021). Chapter 6 - Active and engaged: Maintaining leisure activities in dementia. In Not known (Eds.), Dementia Rehabilitation: Evidence-Based Interventions and Clinical Recommendations, (pp. 97-110). TBC. [More Information]
- Wesson, J., Burns, T. (2019). Chapter 14 Cognitive Performance Test. In Timothy J Wolf, Dorothy Farrar Edwards, Gordon Muir Giles (Eds.), Functional Cognition and Occupational Therapy. A Practical Approach to Treating Individuals with Cognitive Loss, (pp. 141-151). United States: Bethesda, MD: American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.
- Wesson, J., Giles, G. (2019). Chapter 2 Understanding Functional Cognition. In Timothy J Wolf, Dorothy Farrar Edwards, Gordon Muir Giles (Eds.), Functional Cognition and Occupational Therapy. A Practical Approach to Treating Individuals with Cognitive Loss, (pp. 1-14). United States: Bethesda, MD: American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.
Journals
- Jeon, Y., Hobbs, A., Nelson, K., Fethney, J., Comans, T., Conway, J., Mowszowski, L., Hill, K., Wesson, J., Hewitt, J., Watson, K., Togher, L., Allman-Farinelli, M., Petrie, G., O'Leary, F., Hilmer, S., Little, S., et al (2024). Evaluation of the Interdisciplinary Care Home-bAsed Reablement Program (I-CHARP) for People Living With Cognitive Impairment and Dementia in Care Homes. Journal of Advanced Nursing. [More Information]
- Bell, J., La Caze, A., Steeper, M., Haines, T., Hilmer, S., Troeung, L., Quirke, L., Wesson, J., Pond, C., Buys, L., et al (2024). Evidence-based Medication knowledge Brokers in Residential Aged CarE (EMBRACE): protocol for a helix-counterbalanced randomised controlled trial. Implementation Science, 19(1), 24. [More Information]
- Ea, A., Cross, A., Martini, A., Wesson, J., Bell, J. (2024). Generating and translating evidence for safe and effective medication management in aged care homes. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. [More Information]
Report
- Bell, J., Bhat, R., Brennan, S., Clark, M., Corlis, M., Etherton-Beer, C., Field, S., Gilmartin-Thomas, J., Haines, T., Hilmer, S., Kurrle, S., Tan, E., Wesson, J., et al (2022). Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Appropriate Use of Psychotropic Medications in People Living with Dementia and in Residential Aged Care.
2024
- Jeon, Y., Hobbs, A., Nelson, K., Fethney, J., Comans, T., Conway, J., Mowszowski, L., Hill, K., Wesson, J., Hewitt, J., Watson, K., Togher, L., Allman-Farinelli, M., Petrie, G., O'Leary, F., Hilmer, S., Little, S., et al (2024). Evaluation of the Interdisciplinary Care Home-bAsed Reablement Program (I-CHARP) for People Living With Cognitive Impairment and Dementia in Care Homes. Journal of Advanced Nursing. [More Information]
- Bell, J., La Caze, A., Steeper, M., Haines, T., Hilmer, S., Troeung, L., Quirke, L., Wesson, J., Pond, C., Buys, L., et al (2024). Evidence-based Medication knowledge Brokers in Residential Aged CarE (EMBRACE): protocol for a helix-counterbalanced randomised controlled trial. Implementation Science, 19(1), 24. [More Information]
- Ea, A., Cross, A., Martini, A., Wesson, J., Bell, J. (2024). Generating and translating evidence for safe and effective medication management in aged care homes. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. [More Information]
2023
- Wesson, J., Du Toit, S., Wales, K., Gresham, M., Flavin, T., Brodaty, H. (2023). Australian National Aged Care Classification behaviour assessment and people living with dementia in residential aged care: Inclusive language for reform? Australasian Journal on Ageing, 42(1), 234-240. [More Information]
- Reppermund, S., Numbers, K., Lin, P., Delbaere, K., Wesson, J., Clemson, L., Ginige, J., Trollor, J., Draper, B., Brodaty, H. (2023). Development of an innovative computerized assessment of instrumental activities of daily living. Alzheimer's and Dementia, 19(Suppl 22), 1-2. [More Information]
2022
- Bell, J., Bhat, R., Brennan, S., Clark, M., Corlis, M., Etherton-Beer, C., Field, S., Gilmartin-Thomas, J., Haines, T., Hilmer, S., Kurrle, S., Tan, E., Wesson, J., et al (2022). Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Appropriate Use of Psychotropic Medications in People Living with Dementia and in Residential Aged Care.
2021
- MC O'Connor, C., Wesson, J., Clemson, L. (2021). Chapter 6 - Active and engaged: Maintaining leisure activities in dementia. In Not known (Eds.), Dementia Rehabilitation: Evidence-Based Interventions and Clinical Recommendations, (pp. 97-110). TBC. [More Information]
- Taylor, M., Wesson, J., Sherrington, C., Hill, K., Kurrle, S., Lord, S., Brodaty, H., Howard, K., O'Rourke, S., Clemson, L., Close, J., et al (2021). Tailored Exercise and Home Hazard Reduction Program for Fall Prevention in Older People with Cognitive Impairment: The i-FOCIS Randomized Controlled Trial. Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 76(4), 655-665. [More Information]
- Low, L., Laver, K., Lawler, K., Swaffer, K., Bahar-Fuchs, A., Bennett, S., Blair, A., Burton, J., Callisaya, M., Cations, M., Wesson, J., et al (2021). We need a model of health and aged care services that adequately supports Australians with dementia. Medical Journal of Australia, 214(2), 66-6.80E+02. [More Information]
2019
- Wesson, J., Burns, T. (2019). Chapter 14 Cognitive Performance Test. In Timothy J Wolf, Dorothy Farrar Edwards, Gordon Muir Giles (Eds.), Functional Cognition and Occupational Therapy. A Practical Approach to Treating Individuals with Cognitive Loss, (pp. 141-151). United States: Bethesda, MD: American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.
- Wesson, J., Giles, G. (2019). Chapter 2 Understanding Functional Cognition. In Timothy J Wolf, Dorothy Farrar Edwards, Gordon Muir Giles (Eds.), Functional Cognition and Occupational Therapy. A Practical Approach to Treating Individuals with Cognitive Loss, (pp. 1-14). United States: Bethesda, MD: American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.
- Chenoweth, L., Cook, J., Wesson, J., Brodaty, H. (2019). Evaluating an education program promoting positive family and staff relationships and collaboration in aged care services: Pre/post/follow-up pilot study. Medical Research Archives, 7(7), 2-26.
2017
- Bentvelzen, A., Aerts, L., Seeher, K., Wesson, J., Brodaty, H. (2017). A Comprehensive Review of the Quality and Feasibility of Dementia Assessment Measures: The Dementia Outcomes Measurement Suite. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (JAMDA), 18(10), 826-837. [More Information]
- Wesson, J., Clemson, L., Crawford, J., Kochan, N., Brodaty, H., Reppermund, S. (2017). Measurement of Functional Cognition and Complex Everyday Activities in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Mild Dementia: Validity of the Large Allen's Cognitive Level Screen. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 25(5), 471-482. [More Information]
- Reppermund, S., Birch, R., Crawford, J., Wesson, J., Draper, B., Kochan, N., Troller, J., Luttenberger, K., Brodaty, H., Sachdev, P. (2017). Performance-Based Assessment of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living: Validation of the Sydney Test of Activities of Daily Living in Memory Disorders (STAM). Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (JAMDA), 18(2), 117-122. [More Information]
2016
- Wesson, J., Clemson, L., Brodaty, H., Reppermund, S. (2016). Estimating functional cognition in older adults using observational assessments of task performance in complex everyday activities: A systematic review and evaluation of measurement properties. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 68, 335-360. [More Information]
2015
- Kuo, C., Liu, K., Bissett, M., Wesson, J., Tulliani, N., Bye, R., Chu, L. (2015). Memory Encoding Processes in Young and Old Adults. Archives of Neuroscience, 2(1), e19813. [More Information]
2014
- Close, J., Wesson, J., Sherrington, C., Hill, K., Kurrle, S., Lord, S., Brodaty, H., Howard, K., Gitlin, L., O'Rourke, S., Clemson, L. (2014). Can a tailored exercise and home hazard reduction program reduce the rate of falls in community dwelling older people with cognitive impairment: protocol paper for the i-FOCIS randomised controlled trial. BMC Geriatrics, 14(1), 1-8. [More Information]
2013
- Wesson, J., Clemson, L., Brodaty, H., Lord, S., Taylor, M., Gitlin, L., Close, J. (2013). A feasibility study and pilot randomised trial of a tailored prevention program to reduce falls in older people with mild dementia. BMC Geriatrics, 13, 1-12. [More Information]
- Delbaere, K., Close, J., Taylor, M., Wesson, J., Lord, S. (2013). Validation of the Iconographical Falls Efficacy Scale in Cognitively Impaired Older People. Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 68(9), 1098-1102. [More Information]
Selected Grants
2024
- Functional Cognition Screening to Detect Subtle Functional Difficulties in Everyday Activities in Older Adults: Which Tool is Fit for Purpose?, Wesson J, Dementia Australia Research Foundation Ltd/Project Grant
2023
- Reducing medication-related harm in people living with dementia through community action: Development and testing of novel co-designed medication management resources across care settings, Sawan M, Cross A, Jokanovic N, Watson K, Wesson J, Department of Health and Aged Care (Federal - administered by NHMRC)/MRFF Early to Mid-Career Researchers Grant
Current Research Students
- Daniel Cheung (PhD)
- Emma Tan (PhD)
- Francis Gomes (MPhil)
- Hon Ting Chan (OT Hons)