Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Context: Case management has been introduced to some of the province's family medicine clinics. Often nurses or social workers, case managers empower dementia patients and their informal caregivers in their own decision making, in addition to coordinating their care. However, little is known about how this model of care handles the cultural diversity of the patient population. We want to verify whether cultural tensions and conflicts exist in the complex and challenging environment of dementia care. This is especially relevant because of the rich ethnic landscape of Montreal. Objectives: 1. To measure the impact of case management across culturally diverse groups of dementia patients and their caregivers. 2. To describe variations of the subjective experiences of these groups. Methods: Our study is set in a Family Medicine Group in Montreal, and is conducted in two parts. First, we perform a cross-sectional clinical study. This means: we gather sociodemographic information of dementia patients and their informal caregivers living in the community, and we use validated questionnaires to assess their needs. We describe results across different cultural groups. Second, we perform a qualitative descriptive study. This means: we interview the participants, to explore their experiences with dementia and case management in more depth, if and how there is a ethnocultural interplay to their difficulties or successes in receiving care and attaining quality of life. Conclusion: We hope to contribute to future practices and policies to accommodate for all members of this vulnerable population.