Frequently Asked Questions
Do you want to know more about the Behaviours in Dementia Toolkit? Explore common questions with our answers below.
How do I search the Toolkit?
Click on the short video below to learn how to use the Toolkit search features.
To explore the Toolkit, you can:
- Do a keyword search similar to a Google search and use some of our filters to narrow down your results.
- If you aren’t sure exactly what to search for you can scroll down the homepage and select a topic based on your goals. For example, do you want to better understand changes in mood or behaviour or support with meaningful engagement in different kinds of activities?
- You can also visit the recommended resources page. We’ve asked different experts to share their perspectives and share their recommend resources.
Why did the Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health create the Behaviours in Dementia Toolkit?
The Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health is committed to improving the mental well-being of older adults across Canada by sharing knowledge, making connections, and advocating for change. Our work is guided by people with professional and lived expertise and we are always listening for opportunities to make a difference.
There’s a lot of information available online about dementia. It can be hard to sort through search results, especially when feeling stressed or overwhelmed. How do you know what you can trust? How do you know what will be relevant to you? This frustrating experience is sometimes called information overload.
We created the Behaviours in Dementia Toolkit to showcase practical, evidence-informed, and inclusive resources that can support people to live well with behaviours in dementia. The Toolkit presents these resources in a welcoming, user-friendly website so they can easily find relevant resources to better understand and respond to dementia-related changes in moods and behaviours.
Who did you create the Toolkit for?
The Behaviours in Dementia Toolkit takes a person-centered approach to dementia care. We expect that most of the people using the Toolkit will be care partners and health care providers supporting someone living with dementia who is experiencing changes in their moods and behaviours. However, anyone with an interest in this topic is welcome to explore and use the Toolkit.
Why did you choose the name Behaviours in Dementia Toolkit?
Early on in the project we held a focus group with older adults to explore different names for the website. There were many great ideas shared and the group ultimately decided on the Behaviours in Dementia Toolkit because it was clear, memorable, and non-stigmatizing.
What kind of resources can people find in the Toolkit?
We currently have over 300 resources in the collection, but this number will change over time. We’ve focused on including resources that share practical and evidence-informed strategies for supporting someone experiencing behaviours in dementia. As the research evidence evolves, the resources we include will change. We will add new and different types of resources as they are created with different information, for different audiences, or in different formats or languages.
How did you decide which resources to choose?
We conducted an in-depth search for relevant English-language resources across the globe. We found more than 1400 to consider! From that initial list, we selected resources that covered different topics and presented the information in a variety of formats. In particular, we focused on resources made in Canada within the past five years and we prioritized resources that shared equity perspectives, including resources by and for Indigenous peoples, 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, and more.