Learning from the COVID-19 Pandemic to Better Prepare for Future Crises

Learning from the COVID-19 Pandemic to Better Prepare for Future Crises: Research Priorities for People with Dementia and Care Partners

People with dementia and their informal carers who lived at home were disproportionally impacted by the COVID-19 control measures, including a more rapid progression of cognitive and functional impairments, deterioration in mental health and wellbeing, loneliness, and increased care partner burden and stress. 

Led by Atlantic Fellow Geeske Peeters and Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) community members—fellows and faculty—the Strategizing Transdisciplinary Research Priorities (STRAP) consortium aimed to identify evidence gaps regarding dementia in key regions globally, and provide region-specific recommendations for a solid research strategy to inform better care for people with dementia and their carers living at home, in the context of COVID-19 or in future pandemics or crises.  

In this webinar, STRAP consortium members will present important outcomes of the project, including:

• An inventory of gaps in knowledge across disciplines and regions based on a literature review.
• A Priorities Setting Partnership approach to prioritize areas for improvement in policy and care in times of crisis.
• An actionable, transdisciplinary research strategy to address the identified research priorities relevant to each region. 

Audience

The audience will have the opportunity to share their own experience and expertise, which will be included in the final research agenda.

Global Atlantic Fellows, GBHI Faculty and Staff and Regional Mentors are the primary audience for this webinar. Current fellows, STRAP consortium participants and partners are also invited to attend.  

Event Program

Moderators 

• Geeske Peeters, Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health, GBHI; Senior Researcher, Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Geriatric Medicine, The Netherlands
• Iracema Leroi, GBHI faculty member; Professor of Geriatric Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin

Speakers

Literature review of the impact of COVID-19 control measures on people living with dementia at home and their informal carers

• Yaohua Chen, Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health, GBHI; Associate Professor in Neurogeriatrics, CHU Lille-University of Lille, France
• Tomás León, Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health, GBHI; Psychiatrist, Hospital del Salvador, Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, and Universidad de Chile 

Results of the international survey among patients, informal carers and health professionals

• Rachel Fitzpatrick, PhD Candidate, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin; Project Coordinator, Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience

The future research agenda

• Tatyana Mollayeva, Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health, GBHI; Scientist, KITE, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network; Assistant Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Canada