Translating Research in Elder Care

We developed a toolkit on Coherent Breathing, a stress management technique in #longtermcare. #Coherentbreathing is deliberate and focused. It balances the nervous system and promotes relaxation, can reduce #stress and improve #sleep and #selfcare: trecbreathingtoolkit.com

We are now over on that other Blue place. Join us! Same name: TRECResearch #science #healthresearch #cdnpoli #cdnpse #pse #LTC #longtermcare

#Dementia risk is rising in an aging US population. Cases are projected to double by 2060 cnn.com/2025/01/13/hea… #Alzheimers #health #wellness

Congratulations! TREC would like to congratulate Iryna Vasyluk and Daisy Liu on their successful completion of the Faculty of Nursing's honours program. During their time with TREC (Sept. 2023 to Dec. 2024), Iryna and Daisy gained firsthand experience in our research program and the variety of methods and analyses TREC uses. They learned in particular about W7 data collection and were able to attend the 2024 AGM. We wish Iryna and Daisy the best in finishing their nursing degrees in the spring before moving on to what promise to be highly successful careers.

New #TRECResearch! Changing Trends in Job Satisfaction and Burnout for Care Aides in Long-Term Care Homes: The Role of Work Environment This study examined the association between care unit work environments in long-term care (LTC) homes and trends in care aides' job satisfaction and burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, reduced professional efficacy) from 2014 to early 2020. We found that a positive work environment at the care unit level mitigated the deterioration in care aides' job satisfaction and burnout over the period studied. Targeted interventions to improve work environments show promise in sustaining the resilience of the care aide workforce. Read more: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39642910/ #longtermcare #ltc #careaides

Welcome new TREC members! TREC welcomed two new honours undergraduate students, Taylor Hume and Nicole Johnson. Both are in the Faculty of Nursing's BScN After Degree program, meaning they already hold university degrees and will complete their nursing training in two years. Taylor is focusing on TREC's upcoming project supporting continuing care home managers, while Nicole is involved in preparing for the project on care aides' traumatic stress exposures. Their honors program work runs through to December 2025. We wish them the best in their studies! Nicole Johnson (right image) is from Calgary and loves to spend time hiking in the mountains. In her free time she enjoys playing squash and drawing. She is passionate about making a positive impact in the healthcare field and believes that research plays a crucial role in improving patient care. Taylor Hume (left image) moved to Alberta from Ontario 2 years ago and loves to hike and be outdoors. She loves animals and wildlife, especially dogs and mountain goats. Taylor is passionate about health care and being a voice for those who may not have one. She is pursuing healthcare to make a difference in patient’s lives and care for people when they need it most.

Are you a leader or team member in long-term care navigating the challenges of moral distress? Discover how to support mental well-being, improve retention, and drive meaningful change in your workplace. Join @DrKateTO, Schlegel Innovation Leader in Arts and Aging, and @JaneKuepfer, Schlegel Specialist in Spirituality and Aging, as they share insights from their groundbreaking work, including the first-ever Canadian Moral Distress in Long-Term Care Think Tank: the-ria.ca/events/navigat…

TREC hosted a Trauma-Informed Care Policy Forum TREC served as the secretariat working with the Alberta (AB) government (sponsor) and Alberta Health Services (AHS) to hold a Trauma-Informed Care policy forum in Edmonton October 28 - 29th, 2024. Continuing care home (LTC) managers, front-line workers, zone leaders, policy makers and researchers from across AB spent two days hearing from international experts and sharing strategies for developing a trauma informed approach in AB continuing care homes. We had keynote presentations, discussions, working groups, and an inner circle/outer circle activity, and tackled the challenge of addressing trauma experienced by LTC residents, their families, and staff. We explored the challenges and resources needed to develop and implement a Trauma-Informed Care Framework in AB and how trauma informed care could be built into everything that we do. The planning group will be discussing next steps in January and working closely with the provincial quality of life group. We will keep you posted! #trauma #traumainformedcare #TIC #LTC #longtermcare #Alberta

#TRECResearch: Evidence pointing toward invalidity of the SF-8 physical and mental scales: a fusion validity assessment The SF-8™ Short Form Health Survey creates physical and mental health scale scores from responses to eight survey questions. These widely used scales demonstrate reasonable reliability, and some forms of validity but have not been assessed for fusion validity. We assess the fusion validity of the SF-8 physical and mental health scales, and provide comments assisting fusion validity assessment of other scales. Read more: rdcu.be/d5MVJ #longtermcare #LTC #olderadults #seniors

Exercise is medicine: The new global exercise guidelines for healthy longevity in older adults are here. With exercise recommendations to address >14 chronic diseases, adverse outcomes, and geriatric syndromes including: ✅ Falls ✅ Cancer ✅ Dementia ✅ Type 2 diabetes ✅ Depression and anxiety A key focus is the need for personalised exercise prescription and translating the evidence to practice. “The ultimate goal is enhanced quality of life, regardless of age or initial state of fitness or frailty.”

Inside this Toronto hospital's #palliative care unit, a choir sings songs of comfort from Bob Marley to Elvis, offering solace to patients during their final days, by @Megan_Ogilvie thestar.com/news/gta/insid… via @torontostar @MGHToronto

IT'S LAUNCH DAY! The first two episodes of Who Cares are now available. Caregiving is the linchpin of Canadian society. It’s our job to keep it in place. 🎙️Listen now: bit.ly/423CRDu #CdnCaregiving @picardonhealth @LivMendelsohn @melissango

B.C. orders provincewide mask mandate for hospitals, clinics, and long-term care thecanadianpressnews.ca/prairies_bc/bc… Get weekly updates: CanadaHealthwatch.ca/newsletter 🍁

#Alzheimers Awareness Month continues. In this video, Gary David Quinton talks about life with memory gaps, coping with the diagnosis, and how he adjusted to new routines and changes in interacting with others. buff.ly/3PvDtdM

For so long, I've wanted to organize a public event for my amazing #LTC community, so I'm thrilled to share this with you (and🙏to @ontariotech_u @OT_FSSH for helping to make this happen). 📅Wed, March 5, 2025, 6:30pm. 📌Regent Theatre: Oshawa, ON. 🔗tickets.regenttheatre.ca/eventperforman…

Medical masks are again mandatory for visitors to long-term care and assisted living, as well as in hospitals and other heath care settings. Updated guidance from government is available here: ow.ly/ThJH50UCMmY

KT Program scientist Dr @JennAnnWatt is featured in this article, where she notes the many health benefits of this social club for older immigrants, including some who are living with #dementia. @ATricco @SPORAlliance @WellnessHubKT

We are thrilled to spotlight the first of six CCNA Knowledge Mobilization stories. @ccna_ccnv is one of the three components of the Brain Health and Cognitive Impairment in Aging (BHCIA) Research Initiative. #BHCIASpotlight #AlzheimersAwarenessMonth

More #TRECResearch -- coming in 2025! An intervention project focused on supporting managers in long-term care (LTC) homes. It will have multiple components – coherent breathing, advanced communication, practical leadership skills, developing a local change project and importantly developing a strong peer support group. Stay tuned!

Updates on #TRECResearch Projects! The Trauma Project is a TREC study to understand the experiences of care aides working with residents in continuing care homes (LTC) who have (or are suspected of having) a history of psychological trauma. The project has made significant progress over the past five month, completing of 24 open-ended interviews with HCAs in Edmonton and Calgary homes. As well, the team has an "in press" research letter in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (JAMDA) with preliminary findings from the initial 13 interviews completed in 2023. Ongoing analysis is uncovering valuable insights on how care aides understand trauma in its various forms, and how they manage the complex mix of behavioral and psychological symptoms, including those caused by dementia. In the coming months, we will share our findings with participating homes, host a webinar, and carry on with scientific papers. We also hope to contribute to strategies that will foster optimized trauma informed work environments. In 2025, further work on developing elements of a trauma informed care approach includes a possible survey of care aide staff taking a deep dive into life long exposures to traumatic stress We will keep you posted!