In this episode, Dan speaks with Dr. Vipan Nikore, founder and CEO of Homecare Hub.

What is Homecare Hub?

Homecare Hub is a purpose-driven team with a bold vision to keep people out of large institutional nursing homes by building creative solutions that decrease the cost, and improve the quality and experience of receiving home care services.

Our healthcare system is overwhelmed, and people with complex healthcare needs face challenges to preserve their current living situation. Homecare Hub was created to address the housing and home care needs of these individuals offering exceptional housing with more personalized, higher-quality care at a lower cost when compared to large nursing home or retirement facilities.

Homecare Hub creates small, high quality 2-12 person shared care homes on-demand at an affordable price by matching people by care needs, language, disease process, and interests. For those not interested in our co-housing solutions, we offer other options through our suite of care solutions designed to help people age safely and comfortably at home for as long as possible.

Dr. Nikore's bio

Vipan is a software engineer turned physician and global leader in Health Innovation. In addition to his role at Homecare Hub, he is the Chief Medical Director of TD Bank as well as a practicing internist at Trillium Health Partners and Cleveland Clinic Main Campus in Ohio and Toronto. Prior to Homecare Hub he was the Site Medical Director for the Department of Medicine at Trillium's Credit Valley Hospital, overseeing 15,000 admissions a year. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine where he teaches Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Innovation, Healthcare Quality and clinical medicine on the hospital wards, and is an investigator at the Institute for Better Health. He previously was co-course director for MIT's Global Health Informatics course where co-edited one of the first comprehensive Global Health Technology books. Vipan has led and founded various organizations and groups, such as the non-profit uFLOW (now LYFE), which empowers underserved youth to start their own health service projects, which he expanded to Chicago, Cleveland, New York City, Boston, and San Francisco. He is a former software developer at IBM, and also led projects at Sun Microsystems, Citibank, UCLA, WHO in Geneva, UNICEF in India, the Ontario Ministry of Health, and Lux Capital in NYC. He is an advisor at the Health Education Project in Haiti and has worked clinically in Haiti, Peru, Ghana, Nepal, and India. He has served as an advisor and mentor at the Creative Destruction Lab, the Center for Social Innovation's Agents of Change program, Blueprint Health in NYC, and the Harvard Innovation Lab. He has authored chapters on e-Health, medical devices, and genomics, and given talks on healthcare technology, innovation, global health, and leadership across the globe. Vipan completed his internal medicine residency training from Cleveland Clinic's main campus, MD degree at the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC), MBA at the Yale School of Management, and his BSc in computer science and software engineering at the University of Western Ontario. At Yale he led the student body as the President of the Yale Graduate and Professional Student Senate and as a resident he was selected as the sole recipient among all Cleveland Clinic residents for the Michener Leadership Award for leadership and dedication to community service and humanity. He is a former recipient of Canada's "Top 40 under 40" award, the country's most coveted award for young leaders.

Daniel Smiley, Research & Logistics Specialist, is your new host as Jenna takes on more responsibilities at the APPTA Hub. He welcomes Dr. Patrick Patterson to discuss his recent publications on long-term care policies pre- and post-COVID-19.

We're all aging, and everyone's talking about it!

Key Takeaways

[:41] Daniel Smiley introduces himself as your new host and welcomes Dr. Patrick Patterson and asks him to share a top-level summary of his paper.

[1:38] Dr. Patterson talks about how Canadian differences in pandemic responses guided the focus of this research paper.

[2:51] The BC vs. Ontario choice came down to demographics and the existing long-term care framework.

[6:10] Hours per resident per day — or HPRD — is a data point that has existed for decades, Dr. Patterson shares what it actually measures.

[9:25] Dr. Patterson talks about two pre-pandemic initiatives to increase hiring in LTC in Ontario and BC as well as their results.

[13:16] The challenges of long-term care support differ from that of other healthcare sectors, Dr. Patterson explains how.

[18:06] Pandemic single-site orders for LTCs had different impacts on different provinces, with Ontario being far more heavily disrupted than BC. Dr. Patterson untangles some of the reasons for this.

[24:14] Varying types of LTC also were vulnerable in different ways to single-site orders.

[26:49] Recapping the factors discussed, Dr. Patterson talks about how BC and Ontario each fared during the first wave of the pandemic.

[31:33] Dr. Patterson adds geography, demographics, and occupancy as factors that aggravated Ontario's situation.

[33:16] Dr. Patterson talks about what he thinks the future holds for the long-term care sector. He also offers some thoughts on what should be done to strengthen the system.

[42:02] Find Dr. Patrick Patterson's paper here: https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/cpp.2022-011.

[43:05] Daniel thanks Dr. Patrick B. Patterson for sharing the findings from his latest research. Thank you to all listeners!

If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to subscribe, rate us, and visit our website at agewell-nih-appta.ca/mileage-podcast for more information.

Project Team Biography

Dr. Patrick B. Patterson is a Knowledge Broker for the APPTA Hub. Patrick is a social anthropologist, with a background in using qualitative research methods to study organizations and policy formation. Within the APPTA Hub, his primary focus is supporting research and knowledge translation activities by looking at contexts, people, and processes that lead to policy decisions.

Mentioned in this episode

The MileAGE Podcast

Healthy Seniors Pilot Project

Dr. Patrick Patterson at APPTA

Long-Term Care Staffing Policies Pre-COVID-19 and Pandemic Responses: A Case Comparison of Ontario and British Columbia

More about your host

Daniel Smiley at APPTA

Daniel Smiley on LinkedIn

Tweetables (edited)

"Turnover is really high in long-term care. In Ontario, recent numbers show that pre-pandemic up to 25% of experienced support staff would leave the long-term care workforce in any given year."

"Folks in long-term care are doing really important work, taking care of our loved ones when they can't take care of themselves anymore."

"A hundred percent of long-term care workers lose 100% of their patients, that can't be easy."

"The care center operators need to take it on board to reduce the turnover, converting part-time positions to full-time can give stability and career opportunity for workers."

"The best long-term solution may be to proactively invest in building health and disease prevention throughout adulthood before people reach old age so that when people are older adults, they are healthy older adults who can stay in their homes longer."

Jenna welcomes Dr. Grant Handrigan, professor at the Université de Moncton to talk about his long-running project Dance Your Way to Health and the upcoming results.

We're all aging, and everyone's talking about it!

Key Takeaways

[:41] Jenna welcomes Dr. Grant Handrigan and asks him to share how his project Dance Your Way to Health came about, four years ago, and how it was anchored with the Grouille ou Rouille community group, founded in 1981.

[5:11] Dr. Grant explains sedentary behaviour and lists the multiple benefits of regular physical activity.

[8:11] The programs' participants were identified prior to even launching the project, Grant explains who they are, where they come from, and how many of them have participated throughout the years.

[10:44] Fredrickton and Saint-John now have the program as well as the original Moncton, Grant touches on how this happened and some other smaller communities he has had a chance to visit.

[13:07] Grant explains where the project is currently — intervention, evaluation, results — and talks about the struggles getting the project off the ground and during COVID-19.

[17:11] Grant breaks down the data points he is sharing and what information the results will include. He also talks about where the performance data was collected and how.

[20:27] The program is running on its own already, Grant explains what further steps will be taken to ensure sustainability.

[22:43] Jenna thanks Dr. Grant Handrigan for sharing how far this program has come. Thank you to all listeners!

If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to subscribe, rate us, and visit our website at agewell-nih-appta.ca/mileage-podcast for more information.

Project Team Biographies

Grant Handrigan: Grant Handrigan is an associate professor at the École de kinésiologie et de loisir at the Université de Moncton. He has a PhD in kinesiology from Université Laval where he was supervised by Professor Philippe Corbeil and Professor Martin Simoneau. His MSc degree is from Memorial University in exercise and work physiology where he was supervised by Dr. Fabien A. Basset. He also holds an undergraduate degree in kinesiology from Memorial University.

Lucille Wilson: Lucille Wilson is a certified kinesiologist and owner of Kinfit50. Kinfit50 is a company that offers exercise programming for older adults in New Brunswick. Lucille Wilson obtained an Bachelor of Science (Kinesiology) from the Université de Moncton.

Mentioned in this episode

The MileAGE Podcast

Healthy Seniors Pilot Project

Grouille ou Rouille

Université du Troisième Age du Sud-Est du Québec

Lucille Wilson — KinFit50

Plain language summary

Canadian Frailty Network

New Brunswick Health Research Foundation

More about your hosts

Jenna Roddick at APPTA

Jenna Roddick on Twitter

Jenna Roddick on LinkedIn

Jenna welcomes Dr. Grant Handrigan, professor at the Université de Moncton and principal investigator for the Implementing Virtual Reality in Advanced Fall Prevention, Building Resilience and Balancing Risk research project. They discuss the relative lack of fall management and prevention programs, the fear of falling as a barrier to a more active life, and the need for sustainable programs for both seniors and youth with regard to falls.

We're all aging, and everyone's talking about it!

Key Takeaways

[:41] Jenna welcomes Dr. Grant Handrigan to talk about his most recent project involving virtual reality.

[1:39] Grant shares how he came to work with virtual reality as well as what this project is looking to evaluate.

[4:48] Falls get left out despite the fact that they are an important cause of hospitalisation and often lead to a shift in independence levels.

[8:26] Grant talks about what he hopes this research provides in terms of implementing the use of VR for fall prevention and the management of fear of falling.

[11:52] Based on the most recent literature, the project is developing a program and beginning the recruitment of participants.

[13:41] Sustainability is hard to predict in the very early stages of a program, Grant shares the possible barriers he sees.

[16:15] Jenna thanks Dr. Grant Handrigan for sharing the beginnings of this project and signs off until the next episode. Thank you to all listeners!

If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to subscribe, rate us, and visit our website at agewell-nih-appta.ca/mileage-podcast for more information.

Project Team Biographies

Grant Handrigan: Grant Handrigan is an associate professor at the École de kinésiologie et de loisir at the Université de Moncton. He has a PhD in kinesiology from Université Laval where he was supervised by Professor Philippe Corbeil and Professor Martin Simoneau. His MSc degree is from Memorial University in exercise and work physiology where he was supervised by Dr. Fabien A. Basset. He also holds an undergraduate degree in kinesiology from Memorial University.

Dr. Jalila Jbilou: Dr. Jalila Jbilou is an associate professor at the Centre de formation médicale du Nouveau-Brunswick and the School of psychology at the Université de Moncton. She holds a medical speciality certificate in public health (2006) and a PhD in community health (2010). Dr. Jbilou has expertise in qualitative and quantitative research as well as implementation science. Her main interest in research is on how to design, implement and evaluate synergistic interfaces between preventive medicine and primary care services.

Professeur Mark Chignell: Professor Mark Chignell has been a professor from the Mechanical & Industrial Engineering faculty at the University of Toronto since 1990. He is a leading expert in human factors, with a particular focus on the design and evaluation of interactive systems that support human performance and decision-making. His research is highly interdisciplinary and draws on theories and methods from engineering, psychology, computer science, and other fields. He has published over 400 articles on topics such as human-computer interaction, user experience, and information visualization. Professor Chignell's latest startup company, Centivizer Inc funded by the AGEWELL National Centre of Excellence, creates exergaming and cognitive assessment products to support healthy aging.

You Zhi: You Zhi is a first-year PhD student studying human factors engineering at the University of Toronto. With a background in cognitive psychology, she has expertise in evaluating the efficacy of online cognitive assessment games aimed at assessing the cognitive abilities of older adults. Her current research focuses on the development and evaluation of virtual reality applications combined with psychotherapy to promote mental wellness.

Other individuals in this project include Danica Maillet, Caroline Lovens and Mélanie Guitar.

Mentioned in this episode

The MileAGE Podcast

Healthy Seniors Pilot Project

More about your hosts

Jenna Roddick at APPTA

Jenna Roddick on Twitter

Jenna Roddick on LinkedIn

Jenna welcomes Karine Levesque, Co-lead of the Enhanced Community Pathway program, currently in its pilot phase. They discuss the importance of offering a comprehensive and centralized health and social development proposition for frail seniors in crisis.

We're all aging, and everyone's talking about it!

Key Takeaways

[:41] Jenna welcomes Karine Levesque to talk about her project and the inspiration for it, but first, she asks her to define Enhanced Community Pathway.

[2:53] Karine talks about the combined health and social system approach her project takes with the participation of the Extra-Mural nurse and social worker to visit a client at home.

[4:31] With a system that is difficult to navigate, in-crisis frail seniors are particularly at risk.

[6:13] The objective of this project is to propose a preventative approach that bridges the gap between health and social development.

[6:44] Capturing the right patient at the right time. Karine describes an at-risk patient.

[8:35] Reaching the right patients is a multi-faceted approach, Karine explains the different partners involved in making the information public.

[9:48] The pilot has begun in Zone 1 (Moncton) and is hoping to gather about 100 participants.

[10:31] Karine touches on the key elements they're hoping to accomplish with the program.

[11:55] Sustainability is a goal, Karine explains how this might be accomplished.

[12:25] Jenna thanks Karine Levesque for coming on the podcast to talk about this pilot phase of the Enhanced Community Pathway program, and signs off until the next episode. Thank you to all listeners!

If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to subscribe, rate us, and visit our website at agewell-nih-appta.ca/mileage-podcast for more information.

Mentioned in this episode

The MileAGE Podcast

Healthy Seniors Pilot Project

Link for ECP Referrals: Referrals | New Brunswick Extra-Mural Program (extramuralnb.ca)

More about your hosts

Jenna Roddick at APPTA

Jenna Roddick on Twitter

Jenna Roddick on LinkedIn

More about our guest

Karine Levesque is a Registered Social Worker working as a Health Consultant for the Home Care Branch of the Department of Health. She has an extensive career in Community and Home Care settings as a former Extra-Mural Social Worker for over 22 years. She joined the Department of Health in Fredericton in August 2021 and is the primary Lead to the Enhanced Community Project, funded through the Healthy Seniors' Pilot Project, which has recently launched in Zone 1 of the province and is ongoing until the end of March 2024.

Project Team members:

Karine Levesque **

Health Consultant, DH — Conseillère en soins de santé, MS

Co-lead — Co-responsable

Dawn-Marie Buck

Director EMP Operations South — Directrices des Opérations PEM Sud

Subject Matter Expert (SME) — EMP Liaisons — Expert liaisons PEM

Marise Auffrey **

Director EMP Operations East — Directrices des Opérations PEM Est

Director of EMP implementation area — Directrice PEM zone implantation

Janet Fogarty

RN EMP Driscoll Unit — II Unité Driscoll

CCC representative — Représante CCS

France Robichaud

EMP Clinical Coordinator East — Coordonnatrice Clinique PEM

Implementation South East — Implementation Sud-Est

Vicki MacGarvie-Gopal

EMP Project Evaluation Coordinator — Coordonnatrice d'évaluation de projets PEM

Project monitoring South East — Surveillance du projet Sud-Est

Annie Rickett **

Manager for Long Term Care and Adult Protection — Gestionnaire des Soins de longue durée et de protection aux adultes

Subject Matter Expert DSD, Central Office — Expert DS, Bureau Central

Garra Mitton

Supervisor SD — Surveillante DS

Subject Mater Expert SD — Expert DS

Patricia O'Dell

Supervisor SD — Surveillante DS

Subject Matter Expert SD — Expert DS

John Eatmon

Program Manager, SD — Gestionnaire de programme DS

Subject Mater Expert SD — Expert DS

Anne Arseneault **

Health Consultant, DH — Conseillère en soins de santé, MS

Project management support — Soutien gestion de projet

Rawia Mokhtar

Project Manager, DH — Gestion de projet, MS

Project management support — Soutien gestion de projet

Jenna welcomes Judy Murphy, Executive Director at Elizabeth Fry New Brunswick, and Cecile Proctor from the University of New Brunswick to discuss their project using the creative arts to create intergenerational connections between low-income youth and seniors.

We're all aging, and everyone's talking about it!

Key Takeaways

[:41] Jenna welcomes Judy Murphy and Cecile Proctor to discuss the project they are co-piloting, Creative Pathways to Healthy Aging, Senior and Youth Engaged which works with older and younger generations.

[1:27] The Bridging the Gap project was the inspirational starting point for this research. Judy talks about the electric last day of Bridging the Gap.

[3:12] Low-income seniors face particular problems that this project attempts to tackle.

[5:12] Cecile talks about the goals of the project and how the research hopes to have an impact.

[7:48] The project team was unlike anything Cecile had ever worked with, she shares how the multidisciplinary sources of input created a wonderful depth of collaboration.

[10:05] Judy speaks about the way this project attempted to flatten the power balance and find a way to make everyone comfortable connecting. She touches on the adaptations COVID-19 required.

[15:00] Judy recounts a shared moment between school children and seniors when they found a connection despite uncooperative weather.

[17:41] The toolkit for adults was born out of the participation of both the youth and seniors in the project and is an interactive idea resource collection of the most popular activities.

[20:20] The program is completed, and Cecile shares how the data is being compiled and some of the results they are seeing.

[23:12] Judy explains what the toolkit requires to be finalized.

[24:20] Judy and Cecile share their parting thoughts and hopes for the program in the future.

[30:00] Jenna thanks Judy Murphy and Cecile Proctor for sharing the information and touching moments to come for this program, and signs off until the next episode. Thank you to all listeners!

If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to subscribe, rate us, and visit our website at agewell-nih-appta.ca/mileage-podcast for more information.

Mentioned in this episode

The MileAGE Podcast

Healthy Seniors Pilot Project

Elizabeth Fry New Brunswick

More about your hosts

Jenna Roddick at APPTA

Jenna Roddick on Twitter

Jenna Roddick on LinkedIn

More about our guest

Judy Murphy is the Executive Director at Elizabeth Fry New Brunswick and is excited to draw on her experiences in professional and volunteer leadership roles in national and provincial non-profits to work collaboratively with staff and volunteers at Elizabeth Fry New Brunswick and partners in the community. With her Masters' in Adult Education, she appreciates a work environment that integrates a feminist, holistic, and participatory approach that is inclusive, creative, and kind. She is a dreamer of innovative projects that invite the whole person to learning, an advocate for Human Rights and social justice issues, especially for vulnerable, yet strong, women and gender-diverse people who yearn to have a voice for personal and community change. She loves having the opportunity to play outdoors with friends, family, and dogs.

Jenna welcomes Carole Goodine, a practicing pharmacist, manager, and researcher for Horizon Health Network, Pharmacy services. Carole maintains a clinical pharmacy practice on the Healthy Aging and Rehabilitation unit at the Doctor Everett Chalmers Hospital (DECH) in Fredericton, NB, and participates in antipsychotic review rounds on the Transitional Care Unit at DECH. Carole's training includes a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy, Accredited Hospital Pharmacy Residency program, Doctor of Pharmacy degree, and post-doctoral fellowship. Her research interests include inpatient medication management, deprescribing in long-term care, and pharmacy practice.

She is currently leading the Hospital to Home Pharmacy Project, an applied research project funded by the Healthy Seniors Pilot Project initiative. The goal of the Hospital to Home Pharmacy Project is to help seniors stay healthy and improve pharmacy practice in New Brunswick. She looks forward to discussing this project with MileAGE listeners!

We're all aging, and everyone's talking about it!

Key Takeaways

[:41] Jenna welcomes Carol Goodine to talk about her project: "a pharmacy hospital discharge: transitions of care prospect to facilitate transfer of care between pharmacy practice settings and improve patient medication knowledge and medication experience at hospital discharge."

[1:54] Dr. Goodine explains what transition of care means and the problems that can arise from it.

[3:49] Medication harm and medication compliance are two areas where patient health might be at risk from miscommunication.

[7:19] Dr. Goodine breaks down where the study is taking place, who the major actors currently are, and what protocols this study is testing to streamline communication modalities.

[12:04] Jenna offers an example scenario and Dr. Goodine shares how her study works to modify the current service offer.

[14:55] Dr. Goodine explains how the program is structured so that hospital pharmacists, community pharmacist, and patients have open channels of communication.

[16:20] Dr. Goodine shares what her hopes are for the study both at the patient and pharmacy levels.

[18:01] The major goal for a sustainable program like this one is simply to ensure the continuity of useful service for patient care. Dr. Goodine speaks about some really interesting takeaways that stakeholder meetings yielded.

[22:25] Jenna thanks Dr. Goodine for sharing preliminary details of this project and signs off until next episode. Thank you to all listeners!

If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to subscribe, rate us, and visit our website at agewell-nih-appta.ca/mileage-podcast for more information.

Mentioned in this episode

The MileAGE Podcast

Healthy Seniors Pilot Project

Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital

Toolkits for Medication Management at Transitions of Care:

CSHP — Discharge Medication Management Toolkit (available to CSHP members only). ISMP HOSPITAL TO HOME — FACILITATING MEDICATION SAFETY AT TRANSITIONS A TOOLKIT FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS. Login or register to download at: Hospital to Home—Facilitating Medication Safety at Transitions (A Toolkit for Healthcare Providers)

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Discharge Planning and Transitions of Care Primer available at: Discharge Planning and Transitions of Care | PSNet

World Health Organisation (WHO) Medication Without Harm initiative: Medication Without Harm

WHO Medication Safety in Transitions of Care publication available at: Medication safety in transitions of care

WHO Transitions of Care Primer available at: Transitions of Care

More about your hosts

Jenna Roddick at APPTA

Jenna Roddick on Twitter

Jenna Roddick on LinkedIn

More about the research team (Updated Feb 8, 2023)

Principal Investigator:

• Carole Goodine, BSc (Pharm), ACPR, Pharm. D., Pharmacy Clinical Manager, DECRH

Co-Investigators:

• Heather Naylor, BScPharm, ACPR, CHC, Regional Pharmacy Research and Education Coordinator

• Penny Demmings, Patient Experience Advisor

• Samantha Fowler, B.A. (Hons.), M.A., MSSU Clinical Research Manager, Office of Research Services

• Christine Boudreau, Pharm. D., BCGP, Pharmacist, Sobeys

• Michael LeBlanc, BSc (Chem), BSc (Pharm), Pharm. D., FCSHP, Regional Manager, Clinical Pharmacy Services, Horizon Health Network

• Sarah Bridges, BSc. Kinesiology, MAHSR, MSSU Clinical Research Assistant, Office of Research Services Horizon Health Network

• Douglas Doucette, BSc (Pharm), Pharm. D., FCSHP, Director of Pharmacy, Horizon Health Network

Research staff:

• Natalie MacDonald, BSc (Pharm), Research Pharmacist

• Research Coordinator — vacant

• Tyler Adams, BSc. Kin, MSc. Kin, Research Assistant

• Siyum Mohiuddin, BSc. Kin, Research Assistant

• Selena Oakes, BSc. Kin, Research Assistant

Student learners:

• Hanna Ramsay, Pharm. D. candidate

Additional Advisors:

• Carol Reimer, BScN, MSc, Patient Experience Advisor

• Loreigh MacKay, BSc (Pharm), Community pharmacist consultant, Fredericton area

In today's episode, Jenna welcomes four guests to talk about a novel research project!

From Centiviser Incorporated and the University of Toronto, Dr. Mark Chignell, Developer of the 2RaceWithMe device and Lisa Fannin, Educator and Volunteer. And from the Center of Innovation and Research in Aging (CIRA), Executive Director Justine Henry and Research Coordinator Debbie Barton.

The project team would like to acknowledge the contribution of Principal Investigator Dr. Jalila Jbilou, M.D., Ph.D., Professeure agrégée, From the School of Psychology and the Centre for Medical Training in New-Brunswick — Université de Moncton.

We're all aging, and everyone's talking about it!

The Centre for Innovation and Research in Aging (CIRA), in collaboration with researchers from the Université de Moncton and University of Toronto, is trialing a novel way to promote physical activity for residents in long-term care centres. The Project is funded by the Department of Social Development (Healthy Seniors Pilot Project), Province of New Brunswick and the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation (NBHRF). Research and Ethics Committee approval was received from the Université de Moncton, in Moncton, New Brunswick. (#2021-054).

The 2RaceWithMe technology combines a 'biking' activity with travel around the world using augmented reality. Individuals, seated in an armchair or their wheelchair, can use the hand or foot pedals or both, to exercise and watch the travel videos. York Care Centre (YCC), a long-term care residence (LTC) in Fredericton, New Brunswick launched the pilot project in June 2021. A second site, the Faubourg du Mascaret, a long-term care centre in Moncton, New Brunswick is preparing for implementation in December 2021.

Key Takeaways

[:40] Jenna welcomes today's four guests: From Centiviser Incorporated and the University of Toronto, Dr. Mark Chignell, Developer of the 2RaceWithMe device and Lisa Fannin, Educator and Volunteer. And from the Center of Innovation and Research in Aging (CIRA), Executive Director Justine Henry and Research Coordinator Debbie Barton.

[1:45] Justine shares who CIRA is and what they do in terms of partnerships with researchers in the field.

[3:16] The 2RaceWithMe technology uses augmented reality (AR) to promote physical activity in long-term care residents, Dr. Chignell shares a brief overview of what AR is and what the technology entails; he also touches on the two primary issues the 2RaceWithMe hopes to directly address.

[6:11] Dr. Chignell describes what the device looks like and how it is intended to be used by participants as well as how it incorporates mechanisms to compensate for people with upper or lower limb challenges.

[9:27] Debbie Barton breaks down the anticipated participation rate for the project and offers her thoughts on the expected outcomes of participant interaction with the technology.

[12:30] When implementing the technology, some special considerations were required; Justine touches on what was needed in terms of community engagement.

[15:22] Debbie explains the protocol prescribed in terms of activity requirements on the unit for the intervention period of this project.

[17:15] Justine talks about future research and outlooks for the project.

[18:46] Jenna thanks Mark, Lisa, Justine, and Debbie for coming on the podcast. Until next time, subscribe, rate, and share!

If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to subscribe, rate us, and visit our website at agewell-nih-appta.ca/mileage-podcast for more information.

Mentioned in this episode

The MileAGE Podcast

CIRA: Agingresearch.ca/our-company

CIRA race with me project: Agingresearch.ca/2racewithme

Agewell Centivizer and testimonial: Youtu.be/OEvluo4EvOc

Twitter: @AgingResearchCA

LinkedIn: @AgingResearch

More about your hosts

Jenna Roddick at APPTA

Jenna Roddick on Twitter

Jenna Roddick on LinkedIn

More about today's guests

Mark Chignell has a Ph.D. in mathematical psychology (University of Canterbury, 1981) and a Masters in Industrial and Systems Engineering (Ohio State, 1984). He was an Assistant Professor in Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California from 1984 to 1990. He joined the Industrial Engineering Department at the University of Toronto as an Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering in 1990 and is currently a Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto, with a status-only appointment in the Department of Computer Science. He was previously the Director of the Knowledge Media Design Institute and BUL Chair in Human-Computer Interaction. Currently, he is the director of the Interactive Media Lab and the founder of Centivizer Inc., a University of Toronto spinoff company. He carries out research in human factors and user interface design, with particular interest in aging, interactive machine learning, and healthcare.

Justine Henry, Executive Director of CIRA, has an Honors Degree in Psychology from Mount Allison University ('10), a Diploma in Health Wellness and Recreation from Eastern College ('12), and a Master of Science in Kinesiology from the University of New Brunswick ('19). Previously, she has worked as a researcher in many fields including behavioral psychology, adulthood and aging, chronic pain, and human sexuality. More recently, Justine completed her Lean Six Sigma training and is a certified Green Belt. She is currently completing the Excellence in Healthcare Leadership Program through Saskatchewan's Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy.

Debbie Barton, Research Coordinator with CIRA, has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of New Brunswick and a Master of Arts degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Michigan State University. She's worked as a Speech-Language Pathologist in hospitals, schools, long-term care, and private practice. More recently, Debbie worked with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term care and community-based organizations in Ontario, where she developed, implemented, and evaluated various healthcare initiatives. Debbie enjoys working with older adults and has always had an interest in research activities.

Lisa Fannin has a background in psychology and ESL teaching and retired from an administrative position at the University of Toronto last March. She became aware of the work of Professor Chignell's team, got excited about it, and offered to volunteer and assist. She has a strong interest in healthy aging and has two family members living in long-term care.

Principal Investigator Dr. Jalila Jbilou, M.D., Ph.D., Professeure agrégée, From the School of Psychology and the Centre for Medical Training in New-Brunswick — Université de Moncton.

To get in touch with Dr. Jbilou:

École de psychologie-Université de Moncton

Centre de formation médicale du NB-Université de Moncton

Pavillon J-Raymond Frenette, Local B-127

Tel: (506)-858-4931

E-mail: [email protected]

Jenna welcomes Dr. France Chassé, co-leader of the Madawaska's Elders Initiatives Project with Micheline Plante, Community Health Representative at the Madawaska Maliseet First Nation. They discuss the health needs of the aging population of the community. They talk about technology to assist them, especially a custom mobile app and other services developed to help seniors live safely at home longer.

We're all aging, and everyone's talking about it!

Key Takeaways

[:45] Jenna welcomes today's guest, Dr. France Chassé.

[1:13] Dr. Chassé explains the Madawaska's Elders Initiatives Project. She shared the needs of the aging population within the Madawaska Maliseet First Nation.

[1:58] Three challenges characterizing the Madawaska Maliseet First Nation community: the size, the two official languages, and the remoteness.

[2:18] There was an increased demand for transportation to health appointments and specialized health care. In some cases, this involved language barriers. There was a decreased number of informal caregivers to help elders in their homes. [3:05] In partnership with the University of Moncton, the First Nation Community Health Center, used available funding to create the MEI Project, to reduce difficulties for elders accessing health care and services. The MEI Project proposed a mobile app connected to the Community Health Center.

[4:03] Elders from the Madawaska Maliseet First Nation were invited to participate in data collection. This data helped to identify health needs. The MEI Project developed initiatives to meet these needs.

[4:35] Three categories of initiatives were offered. The first was for transportation, accompaniment, and translation. The second was for home services, indoor and outdoor. The third was for other requests.

[4:59] The MEI Project hired a local company to develop a mobile app and put it in the Apple App Store. Since it was for seniors, Apple released 30 licenses free of charge. The apps were placed on iPads that connected to the First Nation Community Health Center.

[5:34] The MEI Project hired and trained a member of the community as a Global Health Assistant employee. This person speaks both languages, has confidence, shows respect for elders, and is resourceful, with a good driver's record.

[6:14] As of now, 29 of the 36 participants received an iPad and participated in the four-hour training sessions in both languages, presented to small groups of elders. The employee helped to train the elders to use the technology. About a year ago, after two weeks of practicing and adjustments, the MEI initiatives were implemented.

[7:09] The MEI Project stays in the community but uses the University's facility and expertise for statistical analysis.

[7:59] The mobile application is available in both languages. The application uses images, symbols, and drop-down menus to offer choices to the participant. There are simple instructions on each page. On sending a request, the elder receives a confirmation message immediately and a follow-up phone call within hours.

[9:12] The Project tried to anticipate every usability issue. They consulted with the elders before releasing the app. After training, two older participants returned the tablet after a couple of weeks because they did not feel comfortable with it.

[10:26] The Initiative provided cellular phone to the project employee so the participants that do not use the tablet could call the employee instead of using the app. The employee uses the iPad app to complete the application for the participant so the system has the information.

[10:51] When an elder that is not enrolled in the project calls for assistance, the employee completes the application for them and they are enrolled and given an iPad and training at a later date. The employee is always available to help seniors complete their requests.

[11:47] So far, 29 of the 30 iPads are loaned to Madawaska Maliseet First Nation elders. The Project purchased five additional iPads. Recently the Project did an application update and Apple generously released 30 more free licenses.

[12:19] The Madawaska Maliseet First Nation Chief and Council purchased an adapted vehicle, demonstrating the importance given to the well-being of seniors in the community and a lasting commitment to the future of the project. The Initiatives are expected to stay in place after the Project is over.

[13:04] The Project came at the right time, giving access to care by remote technology during the pandemic. The mobile application accumulates information about the number of requests received, the nature of these requests, the different services used, and the users' appreciation level.

[13:33] The transportation, accompaniment, and translation service remains the most popular initiative and the appreciation level is very high. The Project is slowly observing an increase in technology use to request services. The elders are now more autonomous in taking charge of their health needs.

[14:06] Based on other requests through the app, the Project has added four additional services: transportation home after a hospital discharge, telephone follow-ups, equipment loans, and friendly visits. Elders also use the technology for other needs such as contacting family and friends, reading the news, or playing games.

[14:43] The elders installed other applications on their tablets for memory exercise, healthy recipes, physical activities, and more. They feel less alone and isolated because they are now connected to the outside world.

[15:33] There is still work to be done to promote the MEI Initiative. They planned monthly activities for the elders but they had to cancel them due to the pandemic. The Project plans to deliver several workshops on healthy lifestyle habits and the prevention of disease.

[16:08] The Project would like to give more advanced training sessions to elders who want to use the iPad to pay bills, order medications, or order groceries. Another plan is for a doctor to be able to meet a patient through the iPad.

[17:01] Jenna looks forward to hearing more as the Project continues and she thanks Dr. France Chassé for being on the podcast, especially in English! Thank you to all listeners!

If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to subscribe, rate us, and visit our website at agewell-nih-appta.ca/mileage-podcast for more information.

Mentioned in this episode

The MileAGE Podcast

Madawaska Maliseet First Nation

Madawaska Maliseet First Nation Community Health Center

University of Moncton Edmundston Campus

Apple

More about your hosts

Jenna Roddick at APPTA

Jenna Roddick on Twitter

Jenna Roddick on LinkedIn

More about today's guest

Dr. France Chassé holds a bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of Moncton as well as a master's and doctorate from Laval University in Quebec. She is a full professor in the Nursing Department at the University of Moncton Edmundston Campus. Dr. Chassé works in the fields of community health, health promotion, illness and injury prevention, international and intercultural health, women's health, health education, program evaluation, and continuous program improvement.

Jenna welcomes the team working on a deprescribing pilot project to the show. The project's Research Coordinators Cody Davenport and Marc-Éric Nadeau accompany Justine Henry — executive director at CIRA — as well as project lead Dr. Emily MacDonald from McGill University in a discussion on the impacts of polypharmacy and the benefits of deprescription in older adults.

We're all aging, and everyone's talking about it!

Key Takeaways

[:40] Jenna welcomes today's guests and starts off the conversation with Justine Henry on an overview of who CIRA is and what they do.

[3:07] Dr. MacDonald breaks down what Polypharmacy is and how it has evolved in the past decade.

[4:13] Cody talks about the MedReviewer app and how it works in conjunction with MedSafer in order to begin decreasing potentially inappropriate or damaging prescriptions for older adults.

[7:15] This web app is designed to be used by healthcare professionals, doctors, pharmacists, etc. Marc-Éric explains the training required to use the app.

[10:00] Dr. MacDonald touches on the potential harms of taking a lot of different medications.

[12:54] Dr. MacDonald talks about how MedReviewer addresses the issues that previous approaches for addressing polypharmacy left behind.

[14:41] Cody and Marc-Éric share what community partners have gotten involved as well as the ones that partnered to develop the app itself.

[16:00] Patient safety in general as well as for deprescription is a primary concern; Dr. MacDonald speaks to the importance of assessment and how the app addresses this.

[18:24] The future of MedReviewer and the team's hope for polypharmacy. Justine Henry shares plans for the future of the pilot project.

[21:14] Jenna thanks the team for coming on the podcast. Until next time, subscribe, rate, and share!

If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to subscribe, rate us, and visit our website at agewell-nih-appta.ca/mileage-podcast for more information.

Mentioned in this episode

The MileAGE Podcast

Healthy Seniors Pilot Project Program

CIRA Center for Innovation and Research in Aging

Missing Link Technologies

New Brunswick Community College

Rising Health Network

McGill University Health Center

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Jenna Roddick at APPTA

Jenna Roddick on Twitter

Jenna Roddick on LinkedIn

More about today's guest

Dr. Emily MacDonald is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in General Internal Medicine and the Director of the Department of Medicine Clinical Practice Assessment Unit. Her research focuses on drug safety and effectiveness with a particular emphasis on polypharmacy and deprescribing in older adults.

More about Dr. McDonald here.

Justine Henry, Executive Director at CIRA, has worked as a researcher in many fields including behavioral psychology, adulthood and aging, chronic pain, and human sexuality.

Cody Davenport, Research Coordinator at CIRA, has an honors degree in Kinesiology from the University of New Brunswick and is currently taking a Master of Science in Kinesiology at the University of Alberta.

Marc-Éric Nadeau, Research Coordinator at CIRA, has a degree in psychology from the University of Moncton and is currently taking a Masters in Counseling Psychology at the University of New Brunswick.

More about the CIRA team here.

Dr. Tracey Rickards, Principal Investigator of the Mobile Wellness Senior's Network Reaching Rural New Brunswickers talks about the research project and some of the more probing results it generated.

We're all aging, and everyone's talking about it!

Key Takeaways

[:40] Jenna welcomes today's guest, Associate Professor at the University of New Brunswick in the Faculty of Nursing and UNB Manager at the Downtown Community Health center in Fredericton, Dr. Tracy Rickards.

[1:10] Dr. Rickards shares the story of how the project was initiated as well as some of the early health findings the pilot project provided.

[4:42] Dr. Karen Cross from St. Michaels in Toronto developed a tool called the MIMOSA; Dr. Rickards explains how this was used in the research project.

[6:22] Diabetes and foot care are intimately linked, Dr. Tracey touches on how this played out in the study and what it implies in terms of mobility.

[8:26] The mobile Health Network provides a suite of services atop foot care; Dr. Tracey breaks down what was offered.

[12:55] Dr. Tracey shares what happened with community partners that participated in the project.

[15:19] Dr. Tracey speaks to the tools used in the assessment and how intervention personnel were categorised.

[16:38] Data collection and the project timeline are currently kept flexible because of COVID-19, Dr. Rickards talks about the hard deadlines that will be coming up.

[17:46] Dr. Rickards talks about the parallels that are often drawn between Extramural and this project and how they actually differ.

[21:09] Dr. Tracey shares her ideas for the future when it comes to the project and the possibilities surrounding it.

[23:36] Jenna thanks Dr. Tracey for coming on the podcast. Until next time, subscribe, rate, and share!

If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to subscribe, rate us, and visit our website at agewell-nih-appta.ca/mileage-podcast for more information.

Mentioned in this episode

The MileAGE Podcast

Healthy Seniors Pilot Project Program

Mobile Health Senior's Network

Dr. Karen Cross

FDCHC

More about your hosts

Jenna Roddick at APPTA

Jenna Roddick on Twitter

Jenna Roddick on LinkedIn

More about today's guest.

Tracey Rickards, BN, RN, MN, Ph.D., is currently an assistant professor in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. She completed her Bachelor of Nursing at UNB in 1986, her Master's of Nursing at UNB in 2005, and her Ph.D. in Nursing at Dalhousie University in 2013. Information about her Master's and Ph.D. research can be found in the Past Research section of this website.

More about Tracey Rickards on her website.