Wednesday, October 28, 2020 - 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. Eastern - Join Gilbrea Centre and the Department of Health, Aging and Society at McMaster University for a free online seminar: A Critical Exploration of Creativity and Dementia at the Intersection of Embodiment, Relationality and Citizenship.

Decreasing stigma associated with dementia and fostering dementia-inclusive communities are key public health priorities across national and international settings. Engagement with the arts is increasingly advocated to reduce stigma and to increase social inclusion of persons living with dementia since the arts so powerfully support non-verbal communication, affect, and the opportunity to participate in activities that are meaningful to self and to others. However, for the most part, the arts are implemented as a therapeutic intervention with the aim of reducing neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with dementia, and improving cognitive and physical health outcomes. The enrichment that the arts bring to human lives is thus obscured by treating the arts exclusively as a means to a therapeutic end. Dr. Pia Kontos will discuss this limitation with reference to a relational model of citizenship that recognizes corporeality and relationality as fundamental to human existence, and that brings a new and critical dimension to understanding the importance of creativity in the context of dementia. Findings from empirical research of hers will be discussed to illustrate how the relational model of citizenship brings a new and critical dimension to understanding the creativity of persons living with dementia while also addressing broader issues of their inclusivity and the ethical imperative to fully support engagement with the arts through institutional policies, structures, and practices. 

Monday, October 26 - Tuesday, October 27 - In so many ways, long-term care in Ontario is headed for a shake-up.

Thursday, October 1, 2020, 12 - 1 pm Eastern - BrainXchange will present the findings from a knowledge exchange project conducted by researchers at The KITE Research Institute (University Health Network) together with Behavioural Supports Ontario (BSO), Family Councils Ontario (FCO) and the Ontario Association of Resident's Councils (OARC).

Friday, November 6, 2020, 9 - 11:45 am CST - The Geriatric Emergency Department Collaborative is hosting the Acute Care for Elders (ACE) 2020 National Conference as a Microsoft Teams Broadcast. There is no registration fee and information on registration is not yet available, check the GEDC website for details.

Monday, September 21, 2020 at 9:30 - 10: 30 am Eastern and at 4 - 5 pm Eastern- This is the eighth webinar series for healthcare teams. Speakers will introduce healthcare workers to effective strategies to support persons with responsive behaviours in care settings. The speakers will be psychogeriatric resource consultants Mario Tsokas, RSW, BSW and Tara Resnick, BA, RSSWG.

There are two times for this webinar.

Friday, October 2, 2020, at 12 - 1 pm Eastern - COVID-19 has disrupted the health system and transformed the way care is delivered. High-quality virtual care will continue to be a priority as we adjust to a new normal and plan for future waves of the pandemic. But how do we tailor virtual care for seniors with frailty? Join us for a 3 part webinar series on senior friendly virtual care! You will walk away with practical tools and tips that you can implement in your virtual care practice. We will cover topics such as, how to make virtual appointments effective, how to build trust in a virtual context, and how to to gather and pre-package data from Connecting Ontario prior to a patient's first virtual visit.

Wednesday, September 23, 2020, 12 - 1 p.m. Eastern - More women than men have Alzheimer’s disease and the numbers are growing. Both sex (biological factors) and gender (social factors) most likely work together to contribute to this predominance. In order to prevent AD in women, we need to understand early in life the factors affecting women that lead to eventual dementia. In this webinar we discuss what is known about the underlying causes and suggest future directions for research.

Tuesday, September 15, 2020, 12 - 1 p.m. Eastern - There is accumulating evidence that healthy diets support brain health in old age and decrease the risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. This presentation will summarize findings from the most recent studies that relate nutrients, food groups, and diet patterns to brain health. We will also introduce the Brain Health Food Guide, a tool developed by a group of Canadian researchers as part of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging. Finally, the presentation will briefly discuss some of the nutrition issues facing individuals living with cognitive impairment.

Thursday, September 10, 2020, 12 - 1 p.m. Eastern - How can we best help older adults with depression via remote treatment? Depression is the most common mental illness in older adults. Social isolation and infection prevention measures to contain the COVID pandemic have disproportionately impacted older adults, putting them at even higher risk of depression.