Researchers:
- Donna Lero, Professor Emerita, University of Guelph
- Tammy Yates, John Stapleton, Sue VanderBent, Denise Whitehead, Marg McAlister, Allie Peckham, Melissa Popiel, Wendy Porch
Description of Project:
The Episodic Caregiver Support Initiative (ECSI) was launched in the fall of 2013 and was funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation to explore the needs of family / friend caregivers of individuals with episodic disabilities in Ontario. An important aspect of this work was also to increase awareness of episodic disabilities throughout the province.
The ECSI activities began with understanding the needs of those caregivers who support individuals with an episodic disability. The activities involved a review of the literature, a survey of caregivers and persons with episodic disabilities, and in-person focus groups in order to get a deeper understanding of the challenges unique to this subset of family / friend caregivers. The goal of the one-year developmental grant was to develop a preliminary model / framework that responds to the support needs of caregivers of people living with episodic disabilities in Ontario with the intent to encourage policy makers to consider and implement the next steps to improve caregiving in the province.
Read more about this project:
Read about the Project in Abilities magazine