Grant: Operating Grant - Priority Announcement: Aging (Bridge Funding)

The most rapidly expanding group of Canadians is those >85 years - the age when complex chronic diseases, in particular dementias, begin to take their greatest toll on ability to live independently. Currently 1 in 5 men >85 and 1 in 3 women >85 reside in long term care (LTC) facilities designed to provide care when family and community no longer can. With our many successes in keeping seniors healthier and in the community longer, residents are admitted later in their decline, with more complex needs and in a much greater state of vulnerability. Within these facilities, the majority of care is provided by unregulated care aides who have low incomes, are most often women with high school education or less, some with little proficiency in either official language. They constitute another at-risk group. To ensure the best possible quality of life for these two vulnerable populations, the Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC) research program will examine how the work environment in nursing homes affects staff members and residents. Like links in a chain, we believe that favourable work environments lead to enhanced use of research information, provision of better care, and ultimately better outcomes for residents (e.g. fewer pressure sores, less pain, etc). Improved staff well-being is also a link in the chain. We will be testing the strength of each link to determine where changes can be most effective. We will also test a program aimed at helping staff design and run their own care improvement projects, once again, measuring the associations with the links of the chain. A third component of our work is aimed at understanding how LTC facilities are connected to each other, which ones are the innovators and leaders, and which ones learn from the others. The TREC research will be carried out in nursing homes across the 4 western provinces. The information developed will contribute to better care for Canadian seniors who spend their final years in a nursing home.