Biography | Biographie
Isabelle Boulay is the Research Assistant/Coordinator and First Link Support at the Alzheimer Society of New Brunswick (ASNB) located in the Moncton Resource Centre. She has a B.A. with a double major in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Moncton. Isabelle joined the ASNB following her graduation in 2020. Previously, she had volunteered at the Society since 2017. Her research focuses on support and education for caregivers and persons living with dementia.
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Isabelle Boulay est assistante/coordonnatrice de recherche et soutien Premier lien à la Société Alzheimer du Nouveau-Brunswick (SANB) située au Centre de ressources de Moncton. Elle possède un baccalauréat avec une double spécialisation en psychologie et philosophie de l’Université de Moncton. Isabelle s’est jointe à la SANB à la suite de sa graduation en 2020. Auparavant, elle était bénévole à la Société depuis 2017. Sa recherche est axée sur le soutien et l’éducation pour les prestataires de soins et les personnes vivant avec la démence.
Presentation Summary | Sommaire de la présentation
Introducing Dementia Care Training to Family Member and Friend Caregivers of People Living with Dementia | Présentation de la formation sur les soins aux personnes atteintes des troubles neurocognitifs aux membres de la famille et aux amis aidants des personnes atteintes des troubles neurogonitifs
Dementia is a complex medical condition that is often associated with challenging behaviours that put an increased burden on caregivers. Informal caregivers state that one of the largest issues they face is a lack of education on how to effectively address these behaviours. An education program known as Gentle Persuasive Approach© (GPA) has been shown to be effective in meeting this need for formal caregivers of people living with dementia (PLWD). The GPA program was recently adapted to create an online educational program known as the GPA Community. The project will involve the implementation and evaluation of GPA Community among informal caregivers living in New Brunswick. Participants for the study included 41 informal caregivers of PLWD. Using surveys, we assessed the impact of the training on caregivers in areas such as satisfaction with training, caregiver burden, how well behaviours were managed, life satisfaction, and other dementia experiences such as unplanned emergency department visits during the study. Through focus groups, an in-depth understanding of the impact of the training on the participants was explored. Findings suggested that GPA Community can improve informal caregivers’ confidence in their ability to address behaviours associated with dementia, warranting expansion and adaptation of this training.