Researchers from the University of Northern British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia are working to create more dementia-inclusive neighbourhoods in the province and make it easier for people living with dementia and their caregivers to better access their communities.

The Public Health Agency of Canada is providing $715,801 through the Dementia Strategic Fund to support the research. The funding is part of a larger federal investment into 14 other projects across Canada that coalesce with the country’s national dementia strategy to raise awareness and quality of life.

This specific project will identify features of neighbourhoods that affect the mobility of people living with dementia and develop an easy-to-use tool to assess supportive environments.

According to news from SFU, the research will engage persons living with dementia and caregivers in Metro Vancouver, with the goal to identify the neighbourhood built environmental features that affect their mobility and wayfinding in carrying out everyday activities. Participants will also help identify barriers and potential improvements that will inform municipal planners and engineers to develop dementia-inclusive neighbourhood environments.

A team from Richmond, Burnaby and Prince George and the Alzheimer Society of B.C. will develop guidelines for dementia-inclusive communities and an environmental audit tool for those living with dementia that support mobility and participation.

SFU gerontology professor Habib Chaudhury is the the principal investigator on the project, Dementia-inclusive Streets and Community Access, Participation and Engagement, or DemSCAPE. Collaborators include UBC researchers Lillian Hung, Canada Research Chair and founder of UBC’s IDEA lab; and Alison Phinney, co-director of the Centre for Research on Personhood in Dementia and UNBC researchers Shannon Freeman, associate professor of nursing; and Mark Groulx, professor with the School of Planning and Sustainability.