SFU and Fraser Health collaborate on long-term care and assisted living research event

SFU and Fraser Health continue to deepen their research partnership through the Long-Term Care and Assisted Living Researchers’ Café, held on November 20 at SFU Surrey.

The event brought together researchers, students, LTC/AL leaders, clinicians, residents, and care partners from across the region. Inspired by early discussions between Dr. Valorie Crooks, Associate Vice-President, Research at SFU, and Dr. Kate Keech, Director of Evaluation and Research Services at Fraser Health, the Café advanced both organizations’ shared commitment to research dissemination, quality improvement, and meaningful engagement.

The day featured a rich series of research presentations. Dr. Randy McIntosh and Dr. Sarah Faber from SFU’s Institute for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology (INN) highlighted emerging brain health themes for long-term care and the connection between music and dementia. Leah Coppella, a PhD candidate in the Department of Geography, shared findings on supporting older adults living with HIV in long-term care and assisted living. Dr. John Pickering, Postdoctoral Fellow in Geography, and Coppella also presented preliminary work on promoting older women’s sexual health and wellbeing in assisted living. Additional presentations covered a rapid realist review on Health Emergency Management in long-term care and an introduction to MicroResearch as a model for small, high-impact projects. Quality improvement presentations focused on antipsychotic appropriateness, planetary health commitments, and the use of Sleepsense technology to enhance sleep care for older adults.

Dr. Akber Mithani, Regional Medical Director, and Susan Brown, Regional Director of Clinical Operations in long-term care and assisted living at Fraser Health, attended the event to strengthen connections between researchers, quality improvement teams, and most importantly the people they aim to serve.

The event also welcomed members of the Fraser Health LTC/AL Research Partners Group, led by Dr. Janice Sorensen, Research Lead for Long-Term Care and Assisted Living at Fraser Health and Adjunct Professor in Faculty of Health Sciences, SFU. Together participants strengthened partnerships and underscored the urgent need to turn ideas into better care.

As Dr. Valorie Crooks emphasized, “There’s something very powerful about bringing people with differing work and life experiences into a single space to talk openly about how we can strengthen care through research”, a sentiment that captures the spirit of the event.