Project 465793

Two-thirds of people living with dementia in the community are supported by their caregivers. Healthcare services consistently fail to provide appropriate support for caregivers. In Canada, many provinces have taken steps to improve the social wellbeing of patients living with dementia and their caregivers. The Ministry of Health and Social Services in Quebec has created the Quebec Alzheimer's Plan to improve care transitions for people living with dementia. This plan supports better coordination of care delivery between health professionals. This research project therefore aims to study and support the roll out of the Ministry's plan. Unfortunately, the health system of Quebec is fragmented. Each organization grapples with different issues that ultimately influence their capacity to fully role out the Alzheimer's Plan. The common challenges faced by the various organizations worth highlighting include: (1) lack of appropriate and effective communication systems (2) lack of access to timely and right information on the quality-of-care transitions (3) lack of access to patient information on care transitions and (4) lack of adequate support to embrace change. This fellowship has multiple objectives: (1) review scientific literature to find out how other health systems have improved the quality of care for people living with dementia and their caregivers; (2) identify and select the appropriate patient-centered quality indicators that will help measure the quality of care for people living with dementia and their caregivers in the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de Chaudière-Appalaches; (3) develop, deliver and evaluate a new quality improvement program to improve the quality of care of people living with dementia; (4) understand how the program can help improve the quality of care transitions and (5) understand how the program can help make the quality improvements last over time.