Grant: Team Grant: CCNA Phase III: Internation. Australia-Canada Indigenous Health Res.

The overall goal of this collaborative project between First Nations in Canada and Australia is to understand frailty among older people, in the context of cognitive impairment, in ways that are grounded in First Nations and strengths-based perspectives, and informed by clinical understandings of frailty, cognition, and dementia. Culturally-grounded measures are important for First Nations' self-determined organization of care for older people. However, existing measurements are rooted in deficit-based approaches, both in population research and in clinical assessment. To address this gap, we will build on previous First Nations-led research and established First Nation community priorities in both Canada and Australia to co-create strengths-based and culturally-informed 1) measures of frailty for use in population datasets, 2) clinical tools for individual assessment of frailty, and 3) community interventions for frailty for those with cognitive impairment. We will also determine the extent to which there are common contexts and approaches in First Nations in Canada and Australia. This research will have a substantive impact on strengths-based clinical practice and community programming to delay frailty and promote strengths in First Nations people who are experiencing cognitive impairment or dementia, and it will support international collaboration on First Nations dementia research.