Baycrest

LONG-TERM GAIN People living in long-term care homes typically have a variety of physical, social and mental health needs. The complexity of caring for these individuals poses unique challenges for healthcare providers, especially when staff at the point of care, such as personal support workers or nursing assistants, aren't commonly trained in best practice approaches to care. In a recent study, Dr. Kelsey Simons and her colleagues are looking to address this gap in knowledge by examining approaches to providing interprofessional psychosocial care in Canadian long-term care facilities. Their overall goal is to identify current and best practices for enhancing the well-being of elders and their family caregivers in long-term care. Dr. Kelsey Simons Social Work Scientist SUPPORT NETWORKED Family caregivers and people self-managing chronic diseases in the home literally save the healthcare system billions of dollars in North America. Yet, these groups don't often receive the adequate support services they need to manage such tasks at home. For more than a decade, Dr. Elsa Marziali has been working to develop Web-based, video-conferencing intervention programs for family caregivers and older adults with neurological diseases such as dementia, Parkinson's disease or stroke. Her studies have shown that providing effective online support to family caregivers helps to reduce stress and mental health problems among caregivers, which in turn prevents them from becoming ill and further burdening the healthcare system. Dr. Elsa Marziali Senior Scientist In another Web-based e-health program, Dr. Marziali is looking into the many barriers – be it social, economic or cultural – that prevent older people with chronic disease from adhering to their rehabilitation programs, and then devising ways to help them get back on track.

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