Problem statement: According to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, over half a million Canadians are living with a dementia and this number will double in 12 years, by 2031. With the passing of Bill C-233, Canada becomes the 30th country to launch a national dementia strategy. This strategy will coordinate existing provincial dementia strategies and related initiatives and programs to address the "overwhelming scale, impact and cost of dementia" (https://alzheimer.ca/en/Home/Get-involved/Advocacy/National-dementia-strategy-guide). AGE-WELL NCE is perfectly situated to be a leader in addressing the challenges of caring for the growing number of older adults living with dementia. It is commonly known that 3 out of 5 people with dementia wander. This statistic lacks specificity and does not inform decision and policy makers. In 2018, Alberta and Manitoba amended their Missing Persons Acts to include "Silver Alert"; and currently there is a national petition for a national silver alert program. Data and research are needed to inform these programs.
Research purpose: The purpose of this proposal is to examine the applications of technologies for assessment and management of wayfinding risks for persons living with dementia in their communities. We propose four studies.
Anticipated impacts: Impacts are seen through five products: (1) a reliable and validated measure that predicts risks of getting lost, (2) a mobile app that uses the predicted risk levels to recommend a personalized strategy for people with dementia and their care partners to mitigate these risks of getting lost, (3) a brief scale to assess the usability of technologies used to locate a person who is lost, (4) a national coordinated strategy for the collection of data on missing older adults to inform programs, product designs, and policies, and (5) algorithm-equipped drones for finding cognitively impaired people who are lost.