Grant: Summer Program in Aging

People who live in long-term care (LTC) homes are in the last stage of their lives. They usually have many diseases including dementia that make them very weak. In this last stage, they need good care to ease their pain and stress. And their families also need help to decrease their own emotional suffering. A palliative approach to care provides the care that residents and their families need. People of different social backgrounds, races, sexual and gender identities, as well as Indigenous peoples also live in LTC homes. They are also in the late stage of their life when they come to live here. And they have the same care needs as others. But they may have different preferences to meet their needs due to their unique traditions and beliefs. We do not know how to best provide a palliative approach to care to them to meet their needs. As a new researcher, I want to design my research program to examine what is currently available in research and from other organizations about how to provide a palliative approach to care for a wide variety of people living in LTC homes. I will work closely with members from different racial, ethnic, sexual, and gender groups to help identify and develop what needs to be done so we can provide the best possible care to diverse peoples who are at the end of their lives.