Abstracts from the 11th Canadian Conference on Dementia

Background/Objectives: As age-related diseases such as dementia increase, care is moving from hospitals into homes, and family care partners are at the centre of a crisis.There is a need to bridge academia and the community, and more specifically to make medical and other healthcare students aware of the impact of dementia on persons living with the illness as well as the impact on their care partners.Universities can play a very important role in providing post-diagnosis dementia education and support to the community.The McGill University Dementia Education Program was founded in 2017 by Claire Webster, a former care partner. Methods:The program offers a comprehensive range of free resources and cutting-edge teaching and learning techniques, including simulation to educate and support persons living with dementia, family and informal care partners, healthcare professionals, medical students and the public at large.Among the many resources on our website; a Dementia Companion Guide available to download in 10 different languages with many more translations in development, "McGill Cares" webcast series consisting of close to 100 educational webinars and podcasts featuring leading healthcare experts, virtual support groups for care partners including "young carers", and an online education program to be launched in the Fall of 2023 for care partners.McGill University has also fully embraced the "person/patient centred care approach" into its medical curriculum by making it mandatory for all first-year medical students to attend Claire Webster's lecture on "Navigating the Journey of Caring for a Person Living with Dementia". Results: Within only 5 years of its inception, the McGill University Dementia Education Program has reached thousands of care partners and has received national and international recognition, becoming one of the most successful community outreach programs within McGill University's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, raising over $4 million in funding.In May of 2019, the program was recognized at Quebec's National Assembly by MP Jennifer Maccarone for educating citizens on the reality of caring for a person with dementia.In June of 2019, the program was awarded Gold in the category of Best Community Outreach Initiative by the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education.In December of 2020, the Academic and Medical Directors of the program were selected by Alzheimer's Disease International to write the 2021 and 2022 World Alzheimer's Reports on the inter-related topics of diagnosis and post-diagnosis management. Conclusion:Universities can play a critical support role, bridging academia and community to provide service to society.They can institute community outreach programs that leverage the wealth of expertise within their institution, and they can integrate caregiver awareness and education into their medical school curriculum.