Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

The launch of Advancement for Dementia Care Centre (ADCC) was established in the year of November 2022. ADCC is a collaborative partnership between Ontario Tech University and Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences. The ADCC aims to advance dementia-friendly communities through spreading and scaling up its innovations, research, and evidence-informed practices to support knowledge translation initiatives and workforce capacity-building in both the Durham Region and beyond. In order to continue the advancement of ADCC partnerships, a collaborative planning and dissemination project is proposed and led by researchers with expertise in aging and dementia care at Ontario Tech University, Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences and community partners (Alzheimer's Society; Senior Care Network; Provincial Geriatric Leadership of Ontario) in Durham Region, Ontario. The purpose of this grant is to bring together knowledge users, researchers, and stakeholders to facilitate identification of emerging issues and priorities for research directions, support the ongoing development of ADCC and planning of future research projects. Using co-designing and participatory approaches, this project seeks to: (1). Facilitate partnerships between researchers and key stakeholders (people with dementia, family caregivers, healthcare providers, family caregivers, community groups); (2) Identify key research areas for future areas of collaborative inquiry; and (3) Promote and catalyze high quality evidence-based research, participatory co-designing, experiential learning, and knowledge exchange opportunities. This will be achieved through the implementation of Advisory Group, Stakeholder Engagement and Knowledge Dissemination events. Our project will focus on examining the adaptation of healthcare and services to build dementia-friendly communities with considerations of equity, diversity, and inclusion that are fully integrated in the care delivery, research and practice.