Welcome!

In July 2002, Dr. Janice Keefe was selected as Mount Saint Vincent University's first Canada Research Chair (CRC)in Aging and Caregiving Policy and was awarded funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to develop the Maritime Data Centre for Aging Research and Policy Analysis (MDC). Funding was also provided by the Province of Nova Scotia and Mount Saint Vincent University. In 2007, Dr. Keefe's CRC was renewed for a second five year term.

The purpose of the Maritime Data Centre for Aging Research and Policy Analysis is to:

1) Conduct research on the effects of the aging population with particular emphasis on caregiving issues.

2) Train graduate and undergraduate students in research methodologies, analysis of public policies and quantitative analyses of primary and secondary data.

3) Translate findings from data analysis to key local, provincial, and national decision makers in the continuing care field.

Research is focused on three key areas:

Caregivers:

Experience, assessment and compensation
Rural/remote issues
Policy development
The future availability of caregivers

Human Resource Issues:

The profile of Canadian continuing care workers
Recruitment and retention of continuing care staff
The impact of availability of informal caregivers on the need for home care workers

Home and Continuing Care policy:

Policies for family/friend caregivers (10 Policy Profiles)
Compensation for care – direct service, tax incentives
Building capacity in home and continuing care research in Atlantic Canada
Identifying gaps in the continuum of care
Developing national policy on home and continuing care