TREC - Translating Research in Elder Care

04/08/2026

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04/08/2026

🌍 April 7 is World Health Day.

It’s an opportunity to reflect on the importance of healthy ageing and equitable access to care for people at every stage of life.

As Canada’s population continues to age, strengthening our health systems, supporting prevention and ensuring older adults can access high-quality care will be essential to improving health outcomes across the lifespan.

At the NIA, we’re committed to advancing research and policy solutions that support healthier, more secure and more connected lives as we age.

04/08/2026

We estimate over 1 million women will be living with dementia in Canada by 2050.

Read more insights from our Landmark study at https://bit.ly/42jOfcF

04/08/2026

More than 8 million caregivers in Canada provide unpaid care to loved ones.

Today, on National Caregiver Day, we recognize the vital role caregivers play in helping people live at home with dignity - often while navigating emotional, financial, and mental health challenges of their own.

Let’s continue to raise awareness and build stronger supports for caregivers across our communities.

We’re here to support you every step of the way.

📞 Call the BC Caregiver Support Line at 1-877-520-3267 (Mon–Fri, 8:30am–4pm) for information, resources, and emotional support.

04/08/2026

Today, on April 7th, we join the country in recognizing National Caregiver Day—a day dedicated to honoring the compassion, resilience, and unwavering dedication of caregivers, especially unpaid family and friend caregivers. These incredible individuals give their time, energy, and love without expectation of reward, supporting their loved ones every day with patience, care, and selflessness.

This year holds extra significance for us at Caregivers Alberta, as we celebrate 25 years of standing alongside caregivers across the province. For a quarter of a century, we’ve provided resources, guidance, and a supportive community to those who give so much of themselves. Over these 25 years, we’ve witnessed countless unpaid caregivers face challenges with courage, adapt with resilience, and show acts of kindness that inspire everyone around them.

On this National Caregiver Day, we want to pause and say thank you—to every unpaid family and friend caregiver who has touched a life, to every supporter who has joined us on this journey, and to our incredible community that makes our work possible. Your dedication fuels our purpose every single day, and we are honored to celebrate this important milestone with you.

03/31/2026

Congratulations to TREC postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Tatiana Penconek who joined the University of Alberta Faculty of Nursing as an Assistant Professor in January 2026!

03/31/2026

Our congratulations to TREC Investigator, Yinfei Duan

Dr. Yinfei Duan recently received a Project Grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for a project entitled Harnessing Advice Networks for Innovation Diffusion and System-Level Transformation in Long-Term Care (the Network Project).

In partnership with long-term care (LTC) leaders, policymakers, and other community partners, the Network Project aims to understand how LTC leaders use knowledge-sharing and advice networks to facilitate the spread of innovations and initiatives intended to improve quality of care and quality of life for both residents and staff across Alberta LTC homes.

Stay tuned for more on this exciting project.

03/25/2026

New TREC Research:

Animal-assisted support programs for residents in Canadian long-term care homes: a feasibility and acceptability study

Animal-assisted services, specifically animal-assisted support programs (AASPs, pet therapy, animal-assisted therapy, animal-assisted activities), are promising programs that may improve the mental health and overall well-being of older adults living with and without dementia in long-term care (LTC) homes.

Few studies have explored the perspectives of residents and LTC staff regarding AASPs for older adults. This study aimed to identify the initial perspectives of LTC staff regarding the feasibility, acceptability, and other factors influencing the implementation of a live AASP within Canadian LTC homes.

Our secondary aim was to supplement the perspectives of the LTC staff with interviews from LTC residents and community members.

What we found:
AASPs have many potential benefits for residents and staff in LTC homes, including perceived improvements in mood and social engagement. Interview participants provided insights and recommendations for future AASPs, including understanding the challenges to implementing AASPs, such as the fear of animals.

The interview findings will inform the design of an AASP intervention and a pilot study to implement and evaluate the intervention in LTC.

Read more:

AASPs have many potential benefits for residents and staff in LTC homes, including perceived improvements in mood and social engagement. Interview participants provided insights and recommendations for future AASPs, including understanding the challenges to implementing AASPs, such as the fear of an...

03/25/2026

Project update:

Trauma‑Informed Care Resource Kit

We are actively developing the engagement process for the Trauma Informed Care Resource Kit, with a current focus on identifying ways of meaningfully involving frontline staff, managers, leadership teams, and families. In parallel, we are creating a robust evaluation plan to ensure the final Resource Kit is both practical and effective in supporting trauma informed approaches across care homes.

The Resource Kit is being developed across three phases with participating homes:

-Needs Assessment (Spring 2026): Identifying priorities and supports required to strengthen trauma informed environments.

-Testing & Refinement (Fall 2026): Trialing the draft Kit in care homes to identify strengths and needed adjustments.

-Evaluation Phase (Early 2027): Assessing usability, impact, and readiness for broader implementation.

We are encouraged by the strong interest on both of the projects from our sector partners. We look forward to sharing further progress as the work continues.

03/08/2026

Celebrating all the women in our lives today

03/06/2026

As Canada marks National Shingles Awareness Week, the National Institute on Ageing (NIA) is releasing a new report warning that shingles remains a largely overlooked yet preventable health risk for older Canadians.  Shingles infections continue to cause unnecessary pain and long-term complications ...

03/05/2026

TREC welcomed new members to

The International Scientific Advisory Committee (ISAC)

Three new members joined TREC's International Scientific Advisory Committee:

-Hilde Verbeek, Professor of Long-Term Care Environments at Maastricht University

-Sharon Straus, Professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, University of Toronto

-Annette Trimbee, PhD, President and Vice-Chancellor of MacEwan University

They join Colleen M. Flood (Dean, Faculty of Law, Queen's University), Howard Feldman (Professor of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego), Tom Noseworthy (Professor Emeritus, University of Calgary), Arlene Bierman (Former Chief Strategy Officer, Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality), and newly-appointed chair of the ISAC committee, Sube Banerjee (Professor and Pro-Vice Chancellor, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Nottingham).