The goals of our research project are to identify ways to measure the quality of healthcare services provided to people living with dementia.   

There are an increasing number of people living with dementia. Improving and maintaining quality of life is rated as the highest priority for people living with dementia and their caregivers. While many factors contribute to quality of life, high quality health care is an important component of optimizing quality of life for people living with dementia. The provision of high-quality dementia care is also important to health care providers, community service providers and society broadly. The first step towards improving quality of care for people living with dementia and their care partners is to measure the quality of care. Our project will incorporate the perspectives of people living with dementia, their family carers, and individuals representing health and social services involved in dementia care to identify key measures of health care quality for people living with dementia in community settings. We will then assess the current state of dementia care in Alberta, Canada and identify factors that are associated with higher or lower scores on measures of health care quality. This information will be shared with decision makers to inform future strategies to monitor and improve dementia care both in Alberta and throughout Canada. Overall, our project will provide critical information about dementia care in Canada and internationally and help identify ways to improve care for the growing population of people impacted by dementia.