Positive Risk Management

Award Date: 2017

Project Lead(s): Dr. Linda Lee

Project Title: Positive Risk Management

The disease process in dementia affects behaviour, mood, physical and social functioning, often resulting in significant impairments in the ability to perform at work, maintain social relationships, and complete daily activities of living. To meet the urgent need for a feasible, effective tool that guides the assessment and management of risks associated with living with dementia, the CFFM Primary Care Collaborative Memory Clinic (PCCMC) has developed and piloted a person-centered “risk enablement” framework based on research evidence and best practices. This PCCMC Person-Centered Risk Assessment tool is a pro-active approach that allows older adults living with dementia to retain as much control over their lives as possible by identifying risky situations and developing systems to manage risk. This project aims to evaluate and refine this Person-Centered Risk Assessment tool. Once refined, this tool can help other primary care settings with better assessment and management of high-risk situations associated with older adults living dementia, with the aim of avoiding crises proactively and allowing these persons and their care partners to live in the community with the best quality of life for as long as possible.