Grant: Project Grant - PA: Patient-Oriented Research: Early-Career Investigator

Canada's aging population and the increasing prevalence of dementia has a significant and growing impact. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the risk of older people with dementia living in long-term care homes and hospital settings. Social isolation and loneliness are pressing concerns in senior care. The research purpose is to develop and evaluate a mobile app - WhatMatters to address the urgent need for social isolation. We will involve students in nursing, computer science and health design, patient and family partners, frontline staff, and decision-makers in care settings to co-develop and co-evaluate WhatMatters in long-term care and hospital settings. WhatMatters will be an easy-to-use app that offers a personalized list of resources (music, videos, and photographs) to enable staff to deliver person-centered care. Family members can upload or live stream music, photos, and videos to support care for people with dementia in a care setting. Mixed-methods, including observation, focus groups, and interviews, will be used to evaluate WhatMatters, such as what works well and what strategies are needed to overcome barriers. WhatMatters will support continuity of care when the person with dementia needs to move between care locations such as hospitals and care homes. We expect WhatMatters will have benefits for 1. People with dementia (improvement in the quality of life with a decrease in isolation), 2. Staff (increase in job satisfaction with easy-to-use resources for care practice), and 3. Healthcare system (an improvement of workforce capacity with a more person-centered care culture).