Impact of a national dementia research consortium: The Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA).

The Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA) was created by the Canadian federal government through its health research funding agency, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), in 2014, as a response to the G7 initiative to fight dementia. Two five-year funding cycles (2014-2019; 2019-2024) have occurred following peer review, and a third cycle (Phase 3) has just begun. A unique construct was mandated, consisting of 20 national teams in Phase I and 19 teams in Phase II (with research topics spanning from basic to clinical science to health resource systems) along with cross-cutting programs to support them.

Use of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Technologies to Support Resilience and Skill-Building in Caregivers of Persons With Dementia: A Scoping Review.

Dementia presents a growing public health challenge with most affected individuals living at home, placing significant responsibility on their caregivers. Various interventions, from traditional support groups and education programs to emerging technologies, and more specifically virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), aim to enhance caregiver skills. While VR/AR shows promise in educating and fostering empathy among caregivers and healthcare professionals, its overall effectiveness and practicality in older adults and dementia care warrant further exploration.

Impact of Care-Recipient Health Conditions on Employed Caregiver Well-Being: Measure Development and Validation.

The research was designed to help our understanding of the relationship between care-recipient health and caregiver well-being. To achieve this goal, we followed the measurement development steps outlined by Hinkin. We began by identifying 18 care-recipient health conditions that encapsulated the breath of caregiver duties pertaining to specific recipient health conditions.

Tele-Mindfulness for Dementia's Family Caregivers: A Randomized Trial with a Usual Care Control Group.

Background: Caring for a family member with dementia is stressful and challenging. Family caregivers, as a vulnerable marginalized population and invisible backbone of the health care system, need accessible and effective interventions that are tailored to their particular needs.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a live online mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (tele-MBCT) intervention for family caregivers of individuals with dementia.

The DWQ-EMR Embedded Tool to Enhance the Family Physician-Caregiver Connection: A Pilot Case Study.

The number of family caregivers to individuals with dementia is increasing. Family physicians are often the first point of access to the health care system for individuals with dementia and their caregivers. Caregivers are at an increased risk of developing negative physical, cognitive and affective health problems themselves.

The impact on employees of providing informal caregiving for someone with dementia.

Objective: To determine if employees who are concurrently providing informal caregiving for a person with dementia (DCG) experience greater challenges than employees providing informal caregiving to older adults without dementia (ND CG).

Method: From a sample of employee respondents to a national Canadian survey three groups were studied: ND CG, and two subgroups of DCGs defined by the level of demand posed by the care recipient (CR) - low dementia demand (LDD) and moderate/high dementia demand (HDD). The dependent variables were CGs' job profile, health/well-being, nature of caregiving and work-caregiving balance and CRs' health demands.

Evaluation of the Reitman Centre CARERS program for supporting dementia family caregivers: a pre-post intervention study.

Objectives: While family caregivers (CGs) of persons with dementia are cost-effective for the health system, this form of caregiving leads to disproportionate vulnerability to physical, mental, and social adverse health consequences among CGs. The study goal was to determine the effect of the Reitman Centre CARERS program on key outcomes in family CGs of people with dementia. The Reitman Centre CARERS program is an innovative, group psychotherapeutic skills training intervention based on integrated problem-solving techniques (PST), simulation learning, and group psychotherapy designed to address each CGs' unique situation.

A Canadian national survey of informal employed caregivers of older adults with and without dementia: Work and employee outcomes.

Background: The majority of family caregivers (CG) caring for older adults, many of whom have dementia, are employees concurrently contending with the work demands and the stress and conflicts of caregiving. Both employers and CG employees are challenged by the need to address this problem.

Method: A cross-sectional Canadian survey was distributed nationally to working informal CGs of older adults in 2015 to 2016.

A quasi-experimental study of the effectiveness of the Reitman Centre CARERS group intervention on family caregivers of persons with dementia.

Objectives: This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the Reitman Centre CARERS program on key outcomes in family caregivers (CGs) of people with dementia (PWD). The Reitman Centre CARERS program is an innovative, group psychotherapeutic skills-training intervention based on integrated problem solving techniques (PST), simulation learning and group psychotherapy designed to address each CGs' unique situation.

Method: Family CGs of PWD (n = 264) that were referred to Reitman Center and the partner sites were evaluated before and after completion of the 8-week CARERS program in comparison with a wait-list control group (n = 83) who received regular care in a quasi-experimental, non-randomized, multiple group, multisite trial.

Evaluation of a problem-solving (PS) techniques-based intervention for informal carers of patients with dementia receiving in-home care.

Background: The value of care provided by informal carers in Canada is estimated at $26 billion annually (Hollander et al., 2009). However, carers' needs are often overlooked, limiting their capacity to provide care.

An open-label, pilot study evaluating the safety and antidepressant effects of Rellidep in major depressive disorder.

Background: In 4 clinical studies of a biological tissue isolate (BTI) similar to Rellidep, the majority of subjects reported improved well-being and mood. Based on these reports of positive effect on mood in trials, an antidepressant pilot study was undertaken with the BTI Rellidep.

Method: Twenty-three subjects (14 women and 9 men; mean age, 44.

Improving caregiving competence, stress coping, and mental well-being in informal dementia carers.

Aim: To study the effectiveness of Reitman Centre "Coaching, Advocacy, Respite, Education, Relationship, and Simulation" (CARERS) program, which uses problem-solving techniques and simulation to train informal dementia carers.

Methods: Seventy-three carers for family members with dementia were included in the pilot study. Pre- and post-intervention data were collected from carers using validated measures of depression, mastery, role captivity and overload, caregiving competence and burden, and coping styles.

Wellness centre: an evidence-guided approach to delivering culturally relevant community psychogeriatric services for chinese elders.

Ethnic elders are commonly reluctant to access mental health services and their mental health problems are often overlooked and detected late in the course of illness. Prior studies identified major barriers to ethnic seniors accessing appropriate mental health care demonstrating that language and cultural beliefs cannot be ignored if effective mental health services are to be provided to patients from diverse cultural groups. These are particularly important when care is needed by less acculturated immigrant ethnic seniors for whom language barriers are often greatest.

Adapting ACT to serve culturally diverse communities: a comparison of a Japanese and a Canadian ACT team.

Objective: The assertive community treatment (ACT) teams of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and the KUINA Center, Hitachinaka, Japan, were compared with regard to ACT fidelity, organizational structure, populations served, and treatment outcomes. Ethnocultural adaptations to the ACT model made by both teams included enhanced family support and intervention, culturally and linguistically matched staff and patients when possible, culturally informed therapy, routine cultural assessments, culturally matched housing and community support, and flexible funding models.

Methods: Data were gathered by chart reviews (66 patients in Toronto and 40 patients in Japan), a satisfaction measure, a standard measure of ACT fidelity, and a pre-post measure of treatment outcomes (the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale), and hospitalization days.

Multi-family psycho-education group for assertive community treatment clients and families of culturally diverse background: a pilot study.

This study evaluates the incorporation of Multi-Family Psycho-education Group (MFPG) to an Assertive Community Treatment Team developed to serve culturally diverse clients who suffers from severe mental illness. Participants included Chinese and Tamil clients and their family members. Family members' well-being, perceived burden, and acceptance of clients were assessed before and after the intervention.

Barriers to access to mental health services for ethnic seniors: the Toronto study.

Objective: To identify and describe barriers to access to mental health services encountered by ethnoracial seniors.

Method: A multiracial, multicultural, and multidisciplinary team including a community workgroup worked in partnership with seniors, families, and service providers in urban Toronto Chinese and Tamil communities to develop a broad, stratified sample of participants and to guide the study. This participatory, action-research project used qualitative methodology based on grounded theory to generate areas of inquiry.

The immediate psychological and occupational impact of the 2003 SARS outbreak in a teaching hospital.

Background: The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Toronto, which began on Mar. 7, 2003, resulted in extraordinary public health and infection control measures. We aimed to describe the psychological and occupational impact of this event within a large hospital in the first 4 weeks of the outbreak and the subsequent administrative and mental health response.