Your Lived Experience Can Help Others

We believe research is vital in advancing opportunities, to fit together the many puzzle pieces that will, slowly but surely, produce transformative change and provide the best possible life for people living with dementia. There are still some missing puzzle pieces but, with every research initiative, we inch closer towards our mission of “empowering all people to live well with dementia,” and our vision of “a world without Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.”

Right now, the Alzheimer Society Research Program has two opportunities for people with lived experience with dementia to help build more understanding around risk reduction and long-term care. Please read below for information about each study and how you can get involved.

Study One: Estimating and managing the risk of going missing in persons with dementia

Background

• People with dementia have a higher chance of getting lost and going missing.
• It is estimated that three in five people with dementia will wander. The number of people who go missing is increasing.
• When a person living with dementia becomes lost, there is a there is a 50% chance that they will be found injured or dead from hypothermia, dehydration, or drowning if they are not located within 12 hours.

Purpose

To examine risk factors for people with dementia getting lost and help to create strategies to reduce such risks.

How Information will be Collected

Participants will be asked to complete telephone and online interviews of 30-60 minutes in length.

Eligibility

• To be eligible to participate in this study, you must meet the following criteria:
• You are a person living with mild to moderate dementia, a relative or care partner of a person living with dementia, or a health professional;
• You must be able to communicate (read and speak) in English;
• You must give your consent to participate in the study.

How to Apply

Apply by March 31, 2022 to: Dr. Hector Perez, Postdoctoral Fellow – University of Waterloo. Call (548) 994-0001 or email: hperez@uwaterloo.ca.

Study Two: Visitor Restrictions in Long Term Care: A Description of Family Caregiver Experiences

Recruitment for this study is now closed.

Purpose

To better understand and describe the experiences of family caregivers in long-term care during the pandemic.   

How Information will be Collected

Participants will be asked to take part in a 60-minute, one-on-one virtual interview about their experiences supporting and visiting someone living in Long Term Care during the pandemic. A summary of shared experiences will be available to those who participate, and findings will be presented to local caregiver interest groups.

Eligibility

Participants must:

• Be a current or bereaved caregiver of a Saskatchewan long-term care (LTC) resident who is/was in LTC during the pandemic;
• Be 18 years or older at the time of the interview;
• Reside in Saskatchewan;
• Have access to wifi and be willing to meet using the Zoom platform.

Recruitment for this study is now closed.

Email: caregiver.study@usask.ca.

This research project has been approved on ethical grounds by the University of Saskatchewan Behavioural Research Ethics Board. REB ID 2822.