Reports
New Report Alert!
Seniors in the Emergency Department Project:
We’re excited to announce the recent release of “Seniors in the ED,” a key findings report from an important research study on improving experiences for older adults in the emergency department. Funded by the Eldercare Foundation and led by Dr. Mariko Sakamoto and Dr. Jae-Yung Kwon (both from UVic’s Faculty of Health), in partnership with Island Health, the project examines the challenges older adults face in emergency care amid human resource shortages, limited primary care access, and broader system constraints.
The research team hosted two in-person Patient-Oriented Research workshops in Nanaimo and Victoria, co-designed with a patient advisory committee of seniors with lived experience. Insights from these sessions, combined with a rapid review of recent literature, informed the report and its recommendations for improving care. Check it out here and let us know what you think!
This project, funded by the Eldercare Foundation, addresses the urgent need to improve emergency department (ED) experiences for older adults in the Island Health region—home to the highest proportion of older adults in BC.
Through a patient-oriented research (POR) approach, Phase 1 will involve a rapid review of effective ED interventions and two one-day workshops centring the voices of older adults with lived experience and their caregivers.
By bringing together patients, families, ED staff, researchers, and decision-makers, the project aims to identify and prioritize practical, evidence-based strategies to enhance seniors’ care in the ED. This collaborative effort, co-led by Dr. Jae-Yung Kwon and in partnership with Island Health, supports aging with dignity and aligns with quality improvement goals across Island Health.
Simrit Sandhu
UVic nursing student Simrit Sandhu presented her research on enhancing emergency department experiences for older adults at UVic’s Health Research Day this past month. Her abstract was selected by a special panel, and featured a poster detailing the approach and outcomes both of the rapid review and the patient workshop she worked on with her nursing colleagues and researchers from the Faculty of Health. The May 1st event, focused on advancing health through community, culture, and change, was put on by the Faculty of Health and the Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health.
The Comox Valley Project
This work was inspired by a 2023 workshop about dementia that UVic’s CARING Dementia Collaborative put on in the valley. One of the key priorities that came out of that workshop was the importance of combatting stigma associated with the condition and making the region more dementia friendly overall. From there, the Comox Valley Healthcare Foundation put together a funding package which included grant money to pursue this work.
The Comox Valley is a unique and vibrant community with a population that is older than other parts of Canada, so it is well situated for this kind of awareness campaign. And since one in four families in Canada is affected by dementia nowadays, it’s relevant and critical for everyone to have an understanding.
Check out our YouTube video, created by Sam Pineda, that talks about the Comox Valley Project and the inspiration behind it:
Dementia-Friendliness Educational Event April 7th:
On Tuesday, April 7th at the Native Sons Hall in Courtenay, we hosted a drop-in educational event raising awareness about dementia. Through a series of interactive games prompting reflection and discussion, participants learned how Courtenay’s business community–and communities in general– could become more dementia-friendly.
Attendees also picked up copies of our new booklet and poster to share with their workplaces, family and friends. Both resources, co-designed by the Comox Valley Dementia-Friendly Partners Group, UVic’s CARING Dementia Collaborative, and Emily Carr University’s Health Design Lab, dispelled widely-believed myths about the condition, and offered tips and strategies for being more open, compassionate and inclusive.
First Co-Lab Roundtable:
In November, the Dementia Action Co-Lab held its first Roundtable session, gathering a community action group comprised of people with lived experience from across BC, researchers, community members, and lab staff.
We discussed best practices for community-based participatory research on dementia, as well as brainstorming key elements of an upcoming research project we will be embarking on soon. You can read the report from this auspicious event here.
Want to Connect?
Leave your contact information and message below.
We’ll be in touch!
Leave a Reply