Nova Scotia Long-Term Care Staff Quality of Work Life: Survey Findings & Next Steps Presentation to representatives from long-term care sector in Nova Scotia (48 mins). Date: March 23, 2023 Presenter: Dr. Janice Keefe Professor and Chair, Department of Family Studies & Gerontology Lena Isabel Jodrey Chair in Gerontology Director, Nova Scotia Centre on Aging, Mount Saint Vincent University Affiliate Scientist, Nova Scotia Health The research is funded by Nova Scotia Health Research Fund.

Canadian Remote Access for Dementia Learning Experiences (CRADLE) is an online course developed for unregulated care providers (e.g., personal support workers, health care aides, continuing care assistants, etc.) working in home care, retirement living and nursing homes across Canada with support from the Government of Canada’s Future Skills Centre. It shares the stories of five seniors living with dementia and, using interactive features and rich media, immerses learners in relatable scenarios to teach them practical approaches to real-life scenarios. 

The Alzheimer Journey is a resource for family caregivers. It consists of three videos that follow the three stages of Alzheimer’s disease and a fourth video that explains how brain function is affected.

This caregiving series includes seven training modules to help anyone caring for a person living with Alzheimer’s disease. In this video, seniors share their views on getting older.

This video examines the symptoms and effects of Alzheimer’s disease through the eyes of two families who have been affected by it. You will also hear what an occupational therapist has to say about what we know and don’t know about the disease.

In this video, actors role play various scenarios to demonstrate various techniques that can be used when communication is affected by Alzheimer’s disease.

This video shows the Gillingham family and Elisa, their home support worker, working to care for Barbara Gillingham’s mother Pearl who has Alzheimer’s disease.

In this video, a “mime” points out possible hazards in the home to show the importance of maintaining a safe environment.

In this video, support workers offer advice for day to day living.

This final video features actors using a problem-solving approach to manage three different challenging behaviours: aggression, inappropriate behaviour, and repetition.

Music can be a powerful source of joy and comfort for people living with dementia and for those around them. When words fail, music provides a way for the person living with dementia to connect with others and engage with memories and emotions.

The Alzheimer Society created the video, “When words fail, music speaks” to show the positive impact of music: