The Faculty of Health study aims to improve the quality of life for people living with dementia in ethno-racial communities
University of Waterloo researchers are tackling some of Canada’s most complex health challenges, leading to solutions for the most vulnerable, while shaping a healthier future for individuals and communities.
Recently, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) announced that two Waterloo researchers were awarded more than $1 million to advance research to improve the lives of people living with dementia and their families through a Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA) Team Grant.
$1,074,900
Dr. Laura Middleton, professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences and Dr. Carrie McAiney, professor in the School of Public Health Sciences, will work to identify effective strategies to improve the quality of life of people living with dementia and their caregivers in ethno-racial communities.
Both are also Schlegel Research Chairs in Dementia and Active Living and Dementia, respectively.
Dr. Laura Middleton (left), Dr. Carrie McAiney (right)
“People living with dementia and their families still struggle to find support for living well in their communities. The need for support is even greater among people from ethno-racial communities who face additional challenges including language barriers, racism, and differing cultural views and stigma of dementia,” Middleton shares.
With a focus on Chinese, South Asian and Black communities, the four-year initiative will use a participatory approach to address the unique challenges these groups face.
The research team includes advisories teams composed of researchers, individuals living with dementia, family care partners, and community organizations from each community to achieve four main goals: to understand what quality of life means within each community; to co-design culturally relevant supports for quality of life and pilot test them in each community; to share findings with partners including community members and policymakers; and to build research capacity among community members and trainees.
The expected impact is twofold: the development of new, community-driven interventions ready for larger testing, and a new generation of researchers and trainees equipped to engage meaningfully with ethno-racial communities in dementia research.
“We are grateful to CIHR for supporting our research and look forward to working with the respective communities as well as with CCNA. This marks a significant step toward health equity, ensuring that dementia care in Canada reflects the diversity of its population and empowers those most affected to shape the solutions,” McAiney says.
This research project is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA).
