The PiDC Alliance is a collaborative research network and research initiative focused on improving the dementia care experience for persons with dementia, family members, and staff in both long-term care and the community.
The PiDC Alliance is co-led by Dr. Sherry Dupuis, Professor and Director of the Murray Alzheimer Research and Education Program (MAREP) at the University of Waterloo, and Dr. Carrie McAiney, Assistant Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University. The Alliance brings together individuals living with dementia, family members, a range of professionals working in dementia and long-term care, an interdisciplinary team of researchers, and over 50 community partners and organizations at the regional, provincial and national levels working together to enhance dementia care.
Funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Community-University Research Alliance (CURA) grant and in-kind and financial contributions from Alliance partners, the aim of the Alliance is to facilitate sustainable culture change in dementia care reflective of a relationship-centred, partnership approach. Our process:
- ensures the involvement of all key stakeholders in the culture change process
- focuses on the experiences of all involved in the care context
- incorporates the voices of all involved in dementia care in all decision-making in the culture change process
- uses appreciative inquiry to uncover and work towards new possibilities in dementia and long-term care
More specifically, the goals of the Alliance are:
- to develop a comprehensive understanding of the culture change process and the factors that support and limit relationship-based, partnership approaches within different LTC settings
- to work with our partners to develop and share new tools and resources to help others facilitate their own participatory culture change processes
- to build the capacity necessary to facilitate culture change in dementia and long-term care by strengthening the skills and knowledge-bases of all those working in dementia care
- to enhance the care experience for persons living with dementia, their family and other partners in care, and the staff who support them
For more information and resources, please visit the Partnerships in Dementia care Alliance website.
