Research Projects

The national SPA-LTC team is involved in a number of local, national, and global research projects. A summary of current and past funded research projects can be found at the following link:

SPA-LTC National Research Projects

Moving Upstream: Integrating a Palliative Approach into Dementia Care (SPA-D) is a national study, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and led by Dr. Genevieve Thompson at the University of Manitoba. Building on the SPA-LTC program, it supports earlier, more informed conversations about care and decision-making for people living with dementia, across long-term care, community, and Alzheimer Society settings. Families and care teams often don't talk about the realities of advanced dementia until a crisis forces the conversation, and SPA-D works to change that.

In New Brunswick, Dr. Pam Durepos and Dr. Kim Lauzier serve as the investigating leads for SPA-D, and also coordinate SPA-LTC's implementation in the province, extending that palliative approach into dementia-specific care. SPA-D is a related but separate study, and is not part of the SPA-LTC program offered through this site.