What is this Study about?

Assistive technology products are things that help you function or carry out activities more easily by yourself. Products could be any devices, equipment, instruments, or software. Examples could be mobile phone apps that provide calendar reminders, switches that turn off stoves, or walkers.

Assistive technology services are activities or resources that help you to use or maintain assistive technology products. Services refer to assessment, training, and maintenance that help with choosing, using, and repairing assistive technology products.

Getting these products and services means having to contact different organizations. If these products and services could be bundled as one unit, it may help persons with dementia get them more easily and potentially reduce costs. Right now, policymakers need more information about providing assistive technologies as bundles.

The purpose of the study is to learn about your experiences with accessing and using products and services for managing dementia. This information will help us to know what should be included in bundles.

For persons with dementia: We would like to interview you now to understand your past and current experiences. We would also like to interview you each year for up to three years (for three interviews) to see how your experiences change over time. You may leave at any time.

For care partners: The purpose of the surveys is to learn about your views and experiences with accessing and using products and services for managing dementia. This information will help us to know what should be included in bundles. If interested, you may also take part in longitudinal interviews (two interviews, one annually) after the initial survey in year one to see how your experiences changed over time. You may leave at any time.

For healthcare providers: The purpose of the surveys is to learn about your views and experiences with assisting persons with dementia and care partners to access and use products and services for managing dementia. This information will help us to know what should be included in bundles and how delivery may be improved. If interested, you may also take part 6 / 10 in longitudinal interviews (two interviews, one annually) after completing the initial survey in year one to see how your experiences changed over time. You may leave at any time.

What is this Study about?

The aim of this study is to understand how people with dementia, family/friend carers and healthcare providers experience the Driving and Dementia Roadmap website. This website contains resources to help people in the decision-making about when to stop driving and adjust to life after driving. We are also interested in knowing how the Driving and Dementia Roadmap may impact how people manage stopping to drive. The findings of this study will be used to improve and ensure that resources, like the Driving and Dementia Roadmap will continue to be available for people with dementia and those who support them. 

What is this Study about?

This study explores the air travel experiences of people living with dementia and their travel companions. We want to understand moments that may feel stressful, confusing, or overwhelming when travelling by air. The information gathered will be used to create recommendations for airlines, airports, and policymakers, helping to make air travel more dementia-friendly, supportive, and enjoyable for people living with dementia and their families.

What is this Study about?

This study explores the hospital experiences of people living with dementia and their care partners, focusing on how hospital and emergency department processes and interactions, often influenced by dementia stigma, influence care quality and outcomes. Insights gathered through interviews will identify barriers and opportunities to improve hospital care for this population. Findings will be used to develop recommendations that promote more responsive, inclusive, and compassionate hospital practices for people living with dementia and their care partners.

What is this Study about?

Help Us Improve Support for Alzheimer’s Caregivers

We are inviting caregivers, healthcare providers, community organizations, and Alzheimer’s societies to take part in a research study focused on improving support for people caring for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.

What is this study about?
We know that caregiving is a journey that changes over time, but many caregivers don’t have access to tools or services that meet their evolving needs. This study aims to change that by bringing together caregivers and professionals to co-create practical resources and tools that support caregivers through each stage of the disease.

What will participation involve?
Participation will mostly take place virtually and includes online surveys, focus groups, and/or one-on-one interviews through secure platforms like Zoom or Microsoft Teams. You’ll be asked about your experiences with caregiving and the services available to you. Later, we’ll host in-person co-design sessions to work together on building useful tools and guidance for caregivers.

Why join?
By participating, you’ll have the chance to reflect on your experience, identify gaps in current services, and help shape resources that better support caregivers like you. You may also learn about services you didn’t know existed. Your input will directly inform more responsive and timely support for caregivers and people living with Alzheimer’s.

What is this Study about?

Many older adults start to experience poorer sleep quality as they age, which can be associated with worse memory and cognition. Previous studies have shown that sleep can be improved when quiet sounds are presented at the right times during slow-wave sleep. We are interested in whether we can improve sleep and associated memory and cognitive function using these sounds in older adults. Information gathered from this study will be used to inform whether quiet sounds presented during slow-wave sleep can improve sleep, memory, and cognitive function.

What is this Study about?

This research aims to explore the perspectives of older adults living with dementia, providing a nuanced understanding of their experiences and challenges. Second, it seeks to investigate the role of physical activities in their lives, examining how engagement in such activities influences their cognitive function and mental well-being. Finally, this research aims to inform interventions and policies that can support older adults in maintaining their cognitive health and overall well-being.

The data will be used for the researcher’s master’s thesis, and for publishing peer-reviewed and non-peer reviewed articles, conference presentations, webinars, and presentations for professionals.

What is this Study about?

This study aims to evaluate the acceptance and usability of the GuardIO Family Care app, a mobile application designed to support community safety for individuals living with dementia or mild cognitive impairment and their care partners. The study also aims to analyze mobility patterns collected from the app to explore how mobility data can contribute to the early detection of cognitive impairment. The findings will help improve app design, inform care strategies, and support early intervention efforts for individuals living with dementia or MCI.

What is this Study about?

In collaboration with our South Asian community collaborators, our goal is to gain an in-depth understanding of new immigrant, multigenerational, South Asian family caregiving for a relative with dementia amidst COVID-19. The goal is to inform future family-centered, healthcare interventions aimed at supporting equity deserving families during times of crisis.

To achieve our goal, we are starting to recruit family care partners living in a multigenerational home and caring for a relative with dementia from each of the four groups of South Asian families. We will be using a multiple case study to examine new immigrant, multigenerational caregiving for a relative with dementia from the perspective of four groups of South Asian families; 1) Pakistani, 2) Bangladeshi, 3) Indian, and 4) Sri Lankan. We will also be using secondary data sources, including genograms, ecoMaps, and key documents.

We will be conducting interviews with a family care partners from each of the four groups. Following these interviews, we will hold four focus groups with a new purposeful sample of South Asian multigenerational care partners to understand if the findings from the interviews reflect their caregiving experiences thereby increasing the reliability of the study findings.