DemSCAPE project featured in the Public Health Agency of Canada’s 2024 dementia strategy update

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has recently released A Dementia Strategy for Canada: Together We Achieve – 2024 Annual Report, which featured the Dementia-Inclusive Streets and Community Access, Participation, and Engagement (DemSCAPE) project at Simon Fraser University.

The 2024 Annual Report highlights several projects funded through PHAC’s Dementia Strategic Fund, Dementia Community Investment, and Enhanced Dementia Surveillance Initiative, along with initiatives led by other federal, provincial and territorial governments, and non-governmental organizations.

DemSCAPE is a multi-year project funded by PHAC and the Alzheimer Society of Canada. It is a collaboration between Simon Fraser University (SFU), the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), and the University of British Columbia (UBC), and is led by Habib Chaudhury, professor and chair in the Department of Gerontology at SFU.

The support of municipal partners in the City of Burnaby and the City of Richmond, along with community partners at the Alzheimer Society of B.C. and Happy Cities, has been instrumental to the project's success. The project had two components: a) generation of an evidence-base on the role of the neighbourhood environment in mobility and social participation among people living with dementia, and b) develop knowledge mobilization resources for multiple stakeholders. The team is in the process of analyzing the empirical data to generate findings to identify features and aspects the physical and social environment of the neighbourhood to support people living with dementia. The team has already developed three knowledge mobilization tools: 1) Dementia-Inclusive Planning and Design Guidelines, 2) a knowledge mobilization video, and 3) an e-training platform for the Dementia-Inclusive Planning and Design Guidelines.

Through community engagement events, on average, 84% of participants reported taking steps to make their communities more dementia-inclusive, such as offering programs for older adults and other initiatives to support people living with dementia.

The e-training platform was co-developed by Madeleine Hebert and Emma Avery from Happy Cities, Sam Pineda, Web Developer, and the DemSCAPE team. This platform is designed to equip planners and community members with the tools needed to improve the design of the built environment in ways that support the well-being of people living with dementia.

Read the full report here: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/diseases-conditions/dementia-strategy-annual-report-parliament-2024.html