Research on Alzheimer's caregiving in Canada: current status and future directions.

In December 2002, a national workshop was held in Ottawa to guide research directions for the caregiving of people with Alzheimer's disease in Canada. Prior to the workshop, a search was conducted to identify Canadian-based investigators who have conducted research related to caregiving of individuals with cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease and other dementia, identify relevant Canadian research studies, and provide an overview of results and themes emerging from this research. This paper summarizes findings from our search for Canadian studies, research themes identified at the national workshop in Ottawa, and recommendations from the workshop. The report first outlines patterns of caregiving and subsequently focusses on the impact of different ways of assisting Alzheimer's caregivers. It concludes by outlining the methodological challenges of observational and intervention studies related to Alzheimer's caregiving and recommendations on how to increase Canada's capacity to conduct research on Alzheimer's caregiving.