Grant: Project Grant

Based on current data, dementia is a priority in Canadian healthcare, particularly for Indigenous populations where rates of dementia can be up to 34% higher than in non-Indigenous populations. Canada's National Dementia Strategy and the Public Health Agency of Canada also call for additional work to improve dementia care services for Indigenous people as a top priority, as do Indigenous communities. The development and provision of culturally safe dementia care for Indigenous people plays an important part in enhancing patient safety and delivering high-quality, Indigenous-centered health care. The aim of this work is to develop and pilot a culturally safe Indigenous-centered dementia care approach that integrates proven person-centered approaches with Indigenous-led components. We will undertake a multi-part project to achieve this aim. We will complete a qualitative interview phase with Indigenous people living with dementia, family members, and community members to establish an Indigenous understanding of culturally safe dementia care and experience. We will then engage with Indigenous community members, health system stakeholders, and experts to develop key domains of an Indigenous-centered dementia care approach informed by the qualitative interviews. The next stage is to complete a small-scale pilot and evaluation of the Indigenous dementia care approach developed in the second part of the project. Our unique team brings together the needed expertise and relationships to successfully lead this research with Indigenous and non-Indigenous health researchers, physicians, and community members with lived experience of dementia. This work also has the support of community organizations regularly working with Elders, Indigenous seniors, and Indigenous people living with dementia. The principles and methodology may be applied with groups to develop locally driven and culturally specific dementia care approaches for underrepresented populations.