Dr. Katie Aubrecht
Health System Impact Fellow Profile

Name:

Dr. Katie Aubrecht

Host Partner Organization:

Continuing Care – Research, Nova Scotia Health Authority

Name of Host Partner Organization Supervisor:

Susan Stevens

Location (city, province):

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Academic Institution:

Mount Saint Vincent University

Name of Academic Supervisor:

Dr. Janice Keefe

Duration of Fellowship:

2 Years

Title of Fellowship / Program of Work:

What Does A Person- And Family-Centred Approach To Challenging Behaviours In Dementia Look Like In Practice, At The Service Delivery Level? A Partnership to Support Research Informed Continuing Care Policy for People with Dementia in Nova Scotia

Contact Information:

Website: www.katieaubrecht.com;
Social media page(s): Facebook: Katie Aubrecht; Twitter: @AubrechtKatie
Post-HSI Fellowship Career Profile

Biography

I have a PhD Sociology of Education, OISE/University of Toronto, and MA Sociology, York University. My research explores the social and political significance of 'person-centred care' paradigms in health and social care for marginalized older adults and their families, with a focus on people living with a dementia and/or mental health condition. I draw from intersectional disability studies, qualitative research methods, and social theory, to analyze personhood as it is made to appear within institutional, provincial, national and international care philosophies, policies and practices. My CIHR HSI Fellowship is an extension of previous research funded by CIHR and Maritime SPOR SUPPORT Unit postdoctoral awards, and SSHRC funded doctoral and Master's research on mental health programs and services within the university sector. I teach in the policy-focused Family Studies and Gerontology graduate program, Mount Saint Vincent University, and serve as Vice-Chair, Executive Board, Canadian Centre on Disability Studies.

Fellowship Program of Work

This 2-year CIHR HSI Postdoctoral Fellowship program of work will support the Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) Continuing Care in addressing the critical challenge of providing quality person- and family-centred care for older adults with a mental health condition and/or dementia, and their family caregivers in Nova Scotia (NS). The work will be carried out under the primary supervision of Susan Stevens, Senior Director, and Glenda Keenan, Director, System Performance, Continuing Care. The Fellowship is co-affiliated with the graduate program in Family Studies and Gerontology and Nova Scotia Centre on Aging, Mount Saint Vincent University, under the academic supervision of Dr. Janice Keefe.

The program will develop new knowledge that will contribute to a person- and family-centred provincial protocol for addressing complex care situations involving older adults living with a dementia and/or psychiatric disability, to improve quality of life. One way we will achieve this is by analyzing the impact of a challenging behaviours program in home- and community-based and nursing home care in NS, as compared with other provinces and countries. This collaborative iKT project will employ an integrative and consultative knowledge creation process that involves ongoing synthesis and knowledge sharing with NSHA directors and workers, policy researchers, and Nova Scotians, to confirm relevance and utility of activities and results, and explore future directions. Results will raise awareness of health equity for older adults and their families, and benefit the continuing care sector by supporting improved coordination across care settings, and curricular (re)development and training in the education sector.

Date modified:

2017-11-16