What this Trial Is About

Researchers are studying the effects of adult day programs on older adults with dementia and their family or friend caregivers across four Canadian provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario. The study aims to evaluate how attending day programs influences the quality of life and health outcomes of both individuals with dementia and their caregivers. It also compares patterns of day program use, social identities, program characteristics, and outcomes between the provinces, while exploring factors linked to attendance and study results. The study involves two groups: older adults with dementia who attend day programs along with their primary caregivers, and a comparison group of similar older adults who do not attend day programs but receive other community care services. Researchers will classify day program use by time since first attendance, average attendance hours, and total days attended. Non-attendees will be matched based on health and social characteristics to ensure comparability. Data on day program features such as capacity, staffing, and activities will also be collected. Participants will be followed over two years with surveys conducted at the start and after one and two years to assess quality of life reported by both attendees and caregivers. Additional information will include mental health, cognitive and physical decline, time to admission to residential care, and healthcare usage like emergency visits and hospital stays. The study uses health administrative data combined with survey responses to measure these outcomes and understand the impact of day programs and related factors over time.

Assessing the Impact of DAy Programs on Individuals Living with Dementia and Their Family/friend Caregivers