Looking at everything from the benefits of dance to boosting protein consumption, the work addresses developing themes in the long-term care sector, says Josie d’Avernas, associate director of RIA which is a partnership between the University of Waterloo, Conestoga College and Schlegel Seniors Villages.

One of the themes is increasing demand for more choice and services from baby boomers who are approaching the age when they will need long-term care.

“We need to dream up and test new programs and new models ahead of the curve, so that the system has a bit of time to integrate new discoveries in a timely way and keep up with the anticipated pressures on the system and the changing expectations of residents,” d’Avernas says.

Among the projects is one held in conjunction with Sheridan College that looked at the role of dance in improving quality of life.

“There is some evidence emerging that you can enhance not just physical health but also brain health if you’re doing a combination of physical exercise, cognitive challenge and socialization, and the one activity that packages all of those three things together is dance,” d’Avernas explains.

Met by a great turnout of retirement residents who really enjoyed it, the project has led to a larger scale research proposal that is now under review, d’Avernas says, adding it will likely involve long-term care residents as well.

Another project with Dr. Heather Keller of the University of Guelph is looking at making the most of mealtime to improve appetite and nutrition.

“It’s not just what seniors eat but their socialization at mealtime that enhances their health and can have a big impact on their appetite,” d’Avernas says, adding a mealtime environment that is conducive to happy socialization may be a key.

Another area of research is also related to nutrition and enhancing seniors’ protein consumption. The RIA is collaborating with the University of Guelph to develop a bread using soy protein.

“Seniors tend not to get enough protein, which is critically important for wound healing and maintaining body mass,” d’Avernas says, adding reduced body mass is common with aging and meat, a main protein source, is generally harder to digest as people get older.

Researchers are eyeing soy because it is a good source of protein that’s easier to digest. If a palatable soy bread can be developed , it could boost protein consumption, d’Avernas says.

Lastly, RIA is looking at brain health and emerging evidence that exercise, cognitive stimulation and social interaction can slow the progression of memory loss.

Along with dance, the Nintendo Wii video game system —used now in some long-term care homes — could be a useful tool for testing research questions because certain games are conducive to providing physical, mental and social stimulus, d’Avernas notes.

These research areas, as well as others that relate to improving care for complex health needs,give reason to hope for new and beneficial innovations for long-term care.

“I think we have huge challenges ahead of us but certainly there are also bright spots and I think research and innovation is a bright spot. There’s some real promise in new ways of working and new interventions that will help people as they age,” d’Avernas says.

To learn more about the RIA and its research themes, click here.

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