Dear Community, Partners, and Colleagues,
We are pleased to share the report for our study The Experiences of Black Canadians Living with Dementia in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and their Care Partners in Providing Care. The report details findings from interviews we held in 2023 with Black people living with dementia and their care partners. Our goal is to use the study findings to create more awareness about dementia in Black communities and to help inform more culturally responsive supports and services for Black Canadians living with dementia in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. The objectives of the study were to:
- Examine the beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes that Black Canadians living with dementia in the GTHA hold about the illness, including how the determinants of mobility impact these beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes.
- Learn about the experiences that diverse Black Canadians have living with dementia, including how the illness has impacted determinants to mobility, especially within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Gain an understanding about the supports they use and the community activities they engage in to maintain and enhance their health and well-being, including how the determinants to mobility shape their experiences accessing supports and activities, and how COVID-19 has impacted this.
- Examine the experiences of their care partners in providing care, including any barriers they face providing care to address determinants to mobility, and how COVID-19 has impacted this.
- Use the data from objectives 1-4 to create a knowledge translation product or resource that will help inform future interventions that will restore, maintain, and promote mobility among Black Canadians living with dementia by addressing any structural barriers and gaps they face.
Our next steps include:
- Creating a knowledge sharing tool to share findings from our study, increase awareness about dementia in Black communities, and decrease the taboo and stigma around the illness.
- Delivering presentations on the study findings to Black and other communities.
- Delivering presentations on the study findings to service providers.
- Delivering presentations on the study findings to academic audiences at conferences and other events.
- Meeting with service providers to determine ways to address gaps in care for Black people living with dementia, and to create awareness and decrease stigma around dementia in Black communities.
We would like to thank the study participants, workshop participants, and our advisory committee members for their contributions to this study. We hope you enjoy the report. We welcome your comments on the report and your suggestions on the next steps you think we should take on this study.
