Invitation for care partners of people living with dementia in Quebec to participate in a research project.
Ten Online Modules over Ten Weeks for Adult Learners (TOTAL) eLearning
for Family/Friend Care Partners of People Living with Dementia
TOTAL eLearning is an online dementia education program that is being developed to address the multidisciplinary concerns of informal (family/friend) care partners of people living with dementia (PLWD), based on existing in-person workshops offered by the McGill Dementia Education Program. It will include additional content to guide care partners through the challenges resulting from the COVID‑19 pandemic and associated public health measures.
In addition to offering Ten Online modules over Ten weeks for Adult Learners, TOTAL eLearning will support care partners by creating a virtual support community comprised of peers, community service providers and health professionals during and following the program.
This online platform will be available in both French and English, and will reach diverse communities in Montreal as well as remote communities in rural Quebec. Several data-enabled tablets will be available on loan to participants in remote areas with bandwidth challenges.
The TOTAL eLearning project will be comprised of ten modules that address the following topics, including within the context of pandemic-related sanitary measures:
- Do I understand dementia?
- How can I take care of myself as a care partner?
- How can I assist the person I am caring for in their daily life?
- How can I get help to manage the health and wellbeing of the person I am caring for?
- How can I manage challenging or responsive behaviours?
- How can I keep the person I am caring for safe?
- How can I help the person I am caring for live well with dementia?
- How can we financially prepare for the future?
- How do I prepare for the future?
- What lifestyle factors will help me age well?
TOTAL eLearning, which will be designed in a community-based participatory approach, will be available to a cohort of 30-50 participants and is projected to launch in May 2023. The program will be evaluated and adjusted based on the involvement, needs and feedback from both participants and patient partners. Thereafter, TOTAL eLearning will be offered on a regular basis, and further work will be done to implement the program nationally.
The principal investigator for this initiative is Tamara Carver, PhD, Associate Professor at the Institute of Health Sciences Education and Director of the Office of Education Technology and E-learning Collaboration for Health (Ed-TECH) at the McGill University Faculty of Medicine and Health Science. She is working closely with Sarah Aboushawareb, PhD candidate and lead Research Assistant, and Professor Peter Nugus, along with the team of coinvestigators listed below.
Coinvestigators include:
- Gerald Fried, MDCM, FRCSC, FACS, FCAHS, M.S.C., Professor of Surgery, Associate Dean, Education Technology and Innovation, and Director of the Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University;
- Serge Gauthier, CM, CQ, MDCM, FRCPC, Professor Emeritus in the Departments of Neurology & Neurosurgery and Psychiatry at McGill University, and Co-Lead of the McGill Dementia Education Program;
- Isabelle Gélinas, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University;
- Claire Godard-Sebillotte, MDCM, MSc, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine at McGill University;
- José Morais, MDCM, FRCPC, CSPQ, Professor in the Department of Medicine, Director of the Division of Geriatric Medicine at McGill University, and Lead of the McGill Dementia Education Program;
- Claire Webster, PAC, CPCA, Dementia Care Consultant and Founder of the McGill Dementia Education Program.
New TOTAL eLearning initiative will benefit from funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada.
