SUDBURY—On Monday, Paul Lefebvre, Member of Parliament for Sudbury, on behalf of the Honourable Jane Philpott, Minister of Health, announced an investment of $1 million for two research projects that will bring new and culturally-adapted approaches to address the needs of indigenous peoples living with or at risk of developing dementia. He was joined for the announcement by Marc Serré, Member of Parliament for Nickel Belt.
The new investment from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) will fund the work of top researchers at the Health Sciences North Research Institute and Laurentian University in Sudbury.
Dr. Janet McElhaney received $500,000 to use a community-based approach that will combine indigenous practices with Western technologies to empower caregivers supporting older Indigenous peoples with dementia.
Dr. Jennifer Walker received $500,000 to develop a Canadian Indigenous Cognitive Assessment Tool for widespread use and to lay a foundation for a national study of dementia in indigenous populations.
These projects are part of the CIHR Dementia Research Strategy, which supports research on the latest preventive, diagnostic and treatment approaches to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia.
