A free online public event, January 25, 2022, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET
A recording of the event with English subtitles:
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A recording of the event with French subtitles:
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Speakers’ slides:
During Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA) presented a free virtual public event focusing on research and the experiences of people who care for people living with dementia. 
For family members and friends, caring and caregiving for a person living with dementia is a complex experience. Many caregivers feel proud and have a sense of accomplishment because of the support they provide. Yet, caregiving can also be challenging and overwhelming.
As a caregiver of a person living with dementia, what can help you cope with the challenges you experience? How can you build and maintain your social network? What does the most recent research tell us about how best to support caregivers of people living with dementia?
The event speakers are:
Dr. Marie Savundranayagam is an associate professor in Health Studies at Western University. She is also the director of the Sam Katz Community Health and Aging Research Unit. Dr. Savundranayagam conducts research that has an impact on how we care for older adults living with dementia and their care partners, both family and formal care partners. Within family caregiving, her research is on enhancing our understanding of contributors of stress and depression among family care partners. Within formal and family caregiving, Dr. Savundranayagam’s research aims to understand the factors that lead to communication breakdown between caregivers and persons living with dementia. Dr. Savundranayagam use research findings to develop, implement, and assess evidence-informed interventions that enrich caregiving experiences. Dr. Savundranayagam created Be EPIC, a person-centered communication training program for health care workers who care for persons living with dementia.
Dr. Janice Keefe is Professor and Chair of Family Studies and Gerontology at the Mount Saint Vincent University. She holds the Lena Isabel Jodrey Chair in Gerontology and is Director of the Nova Scotia Centre on Aging. Dr. Keefe is an Adjunct Professor with Dalhousie Medicine and Affiliate Scientist with Nova Scotia Health. She sits on numerous advisory committees such as Statistics Canada’s Demography Committee, Canadian Dementia Strategy, Canadian Institute of Health Information and is Vice-Chair of the European More Years Better Lives Scientific Advisory Board. She is the Scientific Director of Seniors – Adding Life to Years (SALTY), pan-Canadian research examining quality of life for residents in long term care (LTC), Principal Investigator on CIHR-funded Homecare Pathways project, and leads research examining the implementation of support visitations by family during COVID. Her research expertise centers on family/friend caregivers, continuing care policies and rural aging. Dr. Keefe has published more than 80 scholarly articles and more than 75 technical reports for government in her 30-year career and mentors many graduate students and post–doctoral fellows in this research area. She continues to chair the NS Ministerial Expert Panel on LTC and co-authored the 2020 Royal Society of Canada’s report on COVID-19 and the future of LTC.
August Kortzman is a graduate student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Saskatchewan who is supervised by Dr. Megan O’Connell. Past research has been on the quality of life of young-adults in long-term care. He was also a member of the Alberta Dementia Strategy and Action Plan care-partner working group and is listed as a contributor to the province’s subsequent dementia strategy document. His current research focus is on enhancing the informal social support network of caregivers/care-partners of persons with dementia.
Linda Grossman currently resides in Toronto, Canada. Linda graduated from the University of Toronto in 1961 as a Registered Dental Hygienist. In the 1990’s Linda served on the board of the Toronto St. Leonard’s Society, eventually becoming the Board Chairperson. Linda has written and had published six children’s books for the then Toronto Child Abuse Centre, now known as Boost Child and Youth Advocacy Centre. Linda is currently serving on the CIHR Institute of Aging Older Adult Regional Council. Linda has also spoken at Government round tables and is presently an active member of the Senior Friendly Group in the geriatric department of Sunnybrook Hospital. Linda is a passionate advocate for people living with Dementia and joined the CCNA’s Engagement of People with Lived Experience of Dementia in June, 2020, her research interests include, but are not limited to, participating in meaningful discussions regarding the plight of seniors in retirement homes and long-term care facilities.