Enhancing Support for Alzheimer’s Caregivers: A Comprehensive Approach to Caregiver Needs and Healthcare Integration Across the Disease Trajectory
Project Overview
In Canada, about 1.1 million people care for family members with dementia, providing support that saves the healthcare system billions each year. However, despite their essential role, caregivers often lack support from healthcare providers, leading to high stress levels that can affect both their own health and the well-being of those they care for. Supporting these family caregivers is critical for the future sustainability of Canada’s healthcare system. Our research focuses on understanding the different stages of caregiving for individuals with dementia and identifying what types of support caregivers need at each stage. Through our work, we developed a model called the Caregiver-Identified Phases Across the Alzheimer’s Disease Care Trajectory (CIP-AD), which outlines five key stages caregivers go through, from monitoring initial symptoms to planning for the future. Each stage brings unique challenges and requires specific types of support, such as emotional, practical, and informational assistance. We now hope to disseminate the CIP-AD model across Alzheimer’s Societies.
Principal Investigator
Kristina Kokorelias , Sinai Health System