Partnerships
Through partnerships with the University of Waterloo and Conestoga College, the RIA attracts research projects to "living research environments" within long-term care and retirement communities, with a view to immediate translation of research to practical training application for caregivers. The "living research environments" include eight facilities offering a continuum of care. These facilities range in size (95 - 192 long-term care beds), ethnicity (cultural, language, faith), and specialized care populations (e.g., dementia, behaviour management, advanced physical, young adult, etc.). Materials and information generated through our research-to-practice initiatives are shared with other LTC facilities and system networks to promote research-informed quality care.
Seniors Health Research Transfer Network (SHRTN)
RIA is a founding member of the Seniors Health Research Transfer Network (SHRTN). Funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, SHRTN is a knowledge exchange network that links caregivers working with seniors in Ontario with researchers and policy makers. SHRTN's vision is to be the "place to go" in Ontario for the latest knowledge and best practices about seniors' health and health care.
SHRTN supports communities of practice in 13 topic areas related to care and quality of life of seniors (activity and aging, quality improvement in long term care, Alzheimers Knowledge Exchange, blood pressure, communicative access and aphasia, compulsive hoarding, continence care, e-learning in long term care, end of life care, home based e-health, influenza vaccine decision aid, spiritual care, and mental health). Each community of practice is supported by a SHRTN Knowledge Broker and an Information Specialist.
These communities of practice host knowledge transfer events regularly. "Fireside chats" are a popular format for these events where caregivers, researchers and policy makers meet virtually via internet and teleconference to learn about and discuss a particular issue.
SHRTN also supports 4 local library services and a central coordinating library service to provide caregivers with free and easy access to evidence-based information.
For more about SHRTN and how to become involved, see www.shrtn.on.ca
Ontario Research Coalition of Research Institutes/Centres on Health and Aging (ORC)
RIA is one of seven research centres that participate in the Ontario Research Coalition of Research Institutes/Centres on Health and Aging (ORC). This is an exciting new initiative funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to enhance the province's capacity for conducting research on health and aging. The ORC's goals are to:
- Increase Ontario's capacity to conduct research on health and aging by targeting project development, nurturing researcher development, and facilitating knowledge exchange among researchers, frontline workers and policy makers.
- Improve Ontario's competitiveness to access more funding from national peer-reviewed competitions/
- Conduct research that is important to health system planning and delivery for older adults in Ontario.
- Strengthen the interface between Ontario researchers and policy makers working on issues related to health and aging.